Blue
by ZoeReed
Summary: In which Asami meets Korra at a club and a one night stand turns into her asking Korra out on a breakfast date.
1. Chapter 1

_***_ _shipper side of me: WTF are you doing Korra and Asami are innocent babies stop this immediately!_

 _dirty shipper side of me: *rubbing its shitty hands together* if you don't write this you will NEVER stop thinking about it_

 _i don't even know. my smut keeps getting filthier. if you need me you can find me in hell probably lol._

….

Asami was getting ready to tell her friends she'd be leaving when she glanced around for one friend in particular. She was looking for her ride home from the club to tell her that she'd just take a cab. It wasn't often she went out clubbing, or dancing, or drinking, but she'd been doing all three all night, and she was getting tired. But then her eyes fell on a girl only a short distance away on the dance floor, and, suddenly, she couldn't bring herself to look anywhere else.

This girl was dressed far more casual than Asami was in her dark red dress and heels. She was wearing a blue flannel with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows and short jean shorts, and her hair was cut above her shoulders and she looked _so_ carefree. She was dancing with some other people, looking like she was having a blast, and even though she was being goofy and fun about the way she was moving her hips, she was still… hot. _Really_ hot.

Asami couldn't tear her eyes away, and the girl must have felt her watching, because she glanced up and they locked gazes. Her eyes were light, and, though Asami couldn't see exactly what color they were from this distance, they appeared to match the lighter tones of her blue flannel. _Everything_ about her was an attractive blue – her flannel, her shorts, her shoes, and, yeah, her eyes. And she _smiled_ at Asami. This big, open, inviting grin that effectively made Asami's heart skip because _Blue actually looked at her_. It was only that brief moment; a look and an acknowledging smile, but Asami needed to get closer. She'd been getting so tired of dancing until she spotted this girl, but now she _needed_ to try and dance with her. She couldn't even be sure if Blue was into girls, or if she was the type who'd turn away from her friends to dance with a stranger, but Asami _had_ to try. The alcohol in her system wouldn't let her think of anything else, and she'd completely forgotten why she'd even been searching the club in the first place.

So, with her clutch in hand, she danced over, keeping rhythm with the beat and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible – the last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself by being completely obvious and getting rejected. Asami worked her way through the crowd, and the place was crammed enough that getting close meant getting right there. It meant getting close enough that, even though she turned her back so as not to be totally transparent, she could feel Blue's hip bump hers every couple of seconds. She got closer still, until she was in the girl's space enough to be in constant contact, even if it was bare, and Asami glanced back over her shoulder to see if it was working and _oh god, she's looking._

Blue's teeth set in that big grin, and she turned around to press back against the back of Asami, so even their shoulder blades were touching, and she made the most playful roll of her body. It was as energetic and goofy as the dancing Asami had seen from across the room, but she could feel in it the clear question of 'is this what you want?' The question of 'did you come over to dance with me?' And Asami's 'yes' was to stay put, to stay in contact and hope Blue would get closer, because she knew seduction and verbal banter, but she didn't know how intimately to dance with this girl who was obviously trying to have a good time. She didn't know how to respond to the playfulness that had called her here in the first place.

Thankfully, she didn't have to think too hard about it. Even though she couldn't see behind her, she could _feel_ that Blue had turned around. She could feel the curve of hips get less than an inch from her backside, and the rhythmic brush of a chest against her back. This was what Asami had come over for, but the total acceptance of her arrival only made her want to get closer. So she backed up that final space between them, and set to swaying her hips in the most inviting way she knew how.

When she felt Blue fall into rhythm with her, following each rock and pulse, it was already enough to make Asami's stomach flip, but then a pair of hands set on her waist. Their warmth seeped through the thin fabric of her dress, heating the flesh beneath and spreading inward, deep into her belly. And Asami wasn't expecting to react like _that_. She didn't usually dance this close to strangers and she didn't let strangers touch her like this, but there was _something_ about this girl. She liked the hands on her waist. Liked the way they set there without pressure or grip, without demand, and instead just shadowed each movement their hips made together.

It was how comfortable the touch felt that made Asami think she wouldn't mind if there was a slight pressure or grip. Wouldn't mind if there was some demand, or if it took the liberty of exploring just a little. To encourage the weight and placement of those warm hands, Asami exaggerated every rotation of her hips. She pressed back harder, put more of her body into it, and even set her hands on top of Blue's, guiding them forward just enough to say _here_ , _feel,_ _take_.

And fuck, Blue listened. Her hands set with just enough pressure to hold Asami back against her body, so they were in unending contact with every part of them from thighs to chest. They maintained that gravity as they fell to Asami's hips, guided them through a turn, and then slid forward to cradle the 'v' lines of muscle below her stomach. Asami loved every second of it. She hadn't come over with any set intentions, and it certainly hadn't been her intention to get turned on, but she _was_. She was _into it_. Into the way Blue followed her rhythm effortlessly. Into how there wasn't a lick of space between them. Into the hands that kept running up and down her waist in a way that wasn't nearly pushy enough for how aroused Asami was getting.

Nor were Asami's hands getting nearly enough of their own. She turned around, letting the palms on her waist stay where they were while her own set over the girl's shoulders. The moment their bodies were together again, they locked gazes. Blue looked straight at her with big blue eyes, and it was so deliberate in combination with the smirk on her face that it made Asami's breath hitch. She couldn't think about what she'd wanted to do with the hand that wasn't holding her clutch. She was stuck so intently staring into those eyes that, except for the automatic motion of her hips, she could barely move. Even when she felt Blue's hands go around to her back, set on the small of it, trace up her spine and dip back down but not dare to drop past her hips, she couldn't think.

She stared so long her eyes burned. It caused her to blink on instinct, and when she opened again, she was looking at Blue's lips. They weren't full, or big, but they looked soft, and they were still curled at one corner, but it wasn't smug. It was like she was enjoying this just as much as Asami was, and her smile was _sexy_ and Asami had the undeniable urge to taste it. She wanted to know what Blue's lips felt like, and if they could move as fluidly as her hips, and what her hands would do if her lips got involved.

While Asami didn't have the guts to just go for it, she had the nerve to leave an opening. Her hands slid up Blue's shoulders and then backward, until they were hanging comfortably behind her neck. It put her that much closer. Their hips never stopped moving with the rhythm, and even though Asami didn't close the distance any more than she already had, with every forward sway, it got smaller. And it got smaller because Blue was slowly stretching upward, pulling her closer gradually enough that Asami wasn't sure they'd ever get there, and the anticipation was killing her. She didn't know if what she wanted was obvious. Didn't know if Blue was actually going to kiss her, or if she was simply getting closer because that's how she wanted to dance.

It took one long minute before their foreheads touched, and the closer they got, the more Asami wanted it. She wanted it _so bad_ that she held her breath, but she could feel each of Blue's exhales on her lips. They were hot and moist in the dense club air, and god, Asami _needed_ it. She made the barest nudge with her nose to plead for it, and when she did, blue eyes met hers. And they didn't look away. Blue held Asami's gaze while her lips parted, and like she still wasn't sure if it was what Asami wanted, she made a soft graze against her mouth and froze. Asami could feel her lips hovering there patiently, and she couldn't take it anymore.

She closed the distance and kissed her, and she was so instantly consumed by it that she forgot to keep moving her hips. Blue's lips _were_ soft. _So_ soft, and they opened against hers as she felt the hands at her back press harder, pulling her in closer. The instant depth of the kiss sent a powerful surge of heat straight through her core, and her arms tightened around Blue's neck and she let her eyes flutter closed to bask in it. To take in how Blue's lips tasted like a mixture of sweet alcohol and mint chapstick. To feel how they closed against Asami's mouth only to open once more with increasing intensity. Asami loved it, and for a moment she forgot that they were in the middle of a dance floor, and she would've let it go on forever if she didn't remember.

She _did_ remember, and she pulled away with a confusing mixture of reluctance and embarrassment. There was a part of her that couldn't believe she'd just kissed a stranger, and there was another that didn't care. Greater than both of those was the part that wanted to keep doing it, to keep going and going until she figured out just how far they _could_ go.

For a moment after Asami pulled away, Blue looked confused too, but then she seemed to recognize the hesitation, and her gaze wandered past Asami to scan the venue. Eventually they stopped, and Asami turned to follow the direction of the look, only to find that it had landed on the bathroom. She didn't care how absurd or crazy it was. This girl was magnetic, and irresistible, and Asami couldn't bring herself to oppose. She grabbed Blue's hand and immediately started toward the bathroom, feeling no hint of reluctance in the canter behind her.

They weaved through the crowd and reached the single bathroom, and Asami released the hand she was holding to rush through the door. She hardly got to turn around before she heard the door slam shut behind them. Blue flicked the lock into place and stepped toward her, but stopped a few inches away like she was giving Asami a chance to change her mind. Asami hesitated to close the charged distance between them, only thinking that she should introduce herself first, or ask Blue's real name, or say _something_ at least, but then Blue pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, and whatever Asami had been thinking was completely lost to her desire.

She tossed her clutch onto the sink counter to leave her hands free, and then grabbed the collar of Blue's flannel in both fists and pulled her forward. Receptive hands immediately returned to her waist, and as their lips finally met again, Asami was pushed backward until her hips met the counter. Blue pressed tight against the front of her, and with the counter behind her to keep her in place, they finally got a leverage that they didn't have on the dance floor. She ground her hips forward, feeling the grip on her waist clutch through the end of it with acceptance as Blue pushed right back.

Now that they were alone, Asami felt eagerness in the lips and body against hers that she hadn't before. Every time her hips pulsed, Blue inched forward to kiss deeper. Her hands couldn't decide on a place to grab, so they were all over Asami's hips and waist and back. She met each needy roll of Asami's body with a matching one of her own, and all it did was succeed in making Asami want more. She wanted hands and lips in places she'd never let a stranger's hands and lips go before. She wanted her own hands and lips to get as many places as Blue would let them.

The body grinding against the front of her was driving her crazy. It had hardly been a couple minutes and she was struggling for air. She couldn't imagine how she'd manage to breathe if Blue kissed or touched her anywhere more intimate, but she wanted _so desperately_ to find out. So she reached for the button at the top of Blue's flannel. As she undid it, lips left hers and opened against her neck, and Blue's mouth was so hot and wet against her flesh that she sighed loudly into her next breath.

That noise caused the lips to clamp down with hard suction, and the pressure of it made Asami's hands falter on the buttons of the flannel. One of them ran up through the back of Blue's hair, encouraging the hold on her neck while her breath hitched. Her fingers clutched, begging for that suction not to end even after she dropped her hand back to the flannel. She undid the next few buttons, eyes greedily lapping up every inch of dark skin that was uncovered, until she got to the low-cut white tank top underneath. It was _almost_ a disappointment, but with the lips on her neck leaving her weak, she couldn't bring herself to complain.

Asami undid the last of the buttons, bypassing the tank top to slip her hands up underneath and meet bare abs. In the back of her mind, she registered a knock at the door, but she far from cared. At the same moment she discovered the ridiculously provocative amount of muscle Blue had, and a resulting spark of lust pooled between her thighs, an eager tongue pressed into her neck, and the combination caused another needy sound to escape her throat. And Blue reacted to the sound with as much fervor as she had to the first one. Her hands slid down Asami's back, past her waist and hips and to the plump flesh beneath it, and she grabbed right as her teeth sank into Asami's neck. It was so goddamn incredible that Asami's nails raked down her stomach, and she felt the muscles beneath her fingers clench as Blue released a low groan into her skin.

There was another, more impatient knock on the door, but Asami wanted to keep doing this. She wasn't nearly satisfied, and the music was loud outside so it muted each noise they made and fuck, she wanted so much _more_. She wanted to feel those hot lips on more of her, wanted to feel more of the muscle she knew was under Blue's clothes, wanted to feel more of the steady pulse building between her legs. And she knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't convince herself not to. As Asami pushed her hips back to encourage the firm grip on her backside, she asked breathily, "Do you want to go home with me?" Blue hummed a ready agreement as her lips kissed to the front of Asami's throat, but she made no move to pull away. "Right now?"

There was another hum against her neck as Blue's lips ceased and her hands released their grip, but she nuzzled her nose into Asami's pulse point with reluctance to pull away. It was such a soft gesture compared to the eager groping they'd both been guilty of, and it made Asami's lips curl in a tender kind of smile that she wasn't at all prepared for. She wasn't going to hurry Blue into stopping either, because she liked the inherent sweetness in it, but then there was another knock on the door, sturdier and louder.

Desperate to get somewhere they wouldn't be interrupted, Asami grabbed her clutch and Blue's hand. She threw open the door and hurried out, passing an impatient clubber who shouted some annoyed profanity at them as they headed toward the exit. Outside, Asami climbed into the nearest cab, and told the driver her address while Blue got in next to her. She'd scooted all the way to the opposite door, hoping Blue would leave a seat between them because, as much as she wanted kissing and hands _now_ , she didn't want to do it in front of the cab driver.

Only, Blue slid in all the way, until she was pressed against Asami's side, and it seemed like more of an unconscious instinct rather than a deliberate move, but her hand set on Asami's thigh. _Bare_ thigh, because Asami's dress was short, and sitting down lifted the skirt of it up so it only covered a few inches beneath the apex of her thighs. It was a tease for both of them. Asami was still breathless and flushed, and it seemed like Blue was trying just as hard as she was to be on her best behavior for the drive, but it didn't last.

Hardly a minute after the cab pulled away from the curb, Blue's hand slipped an inch up Asami's parted thigh. Asami wasn't sure which came first, the slight spreading of her legs or the movement of the hand, but it didn't really matter. It didn't matter because as Blue's hand traveled up another inch, Asami's heart started pounding with excitement. She had no idea if the hand would go all the way up, and a part of her was terrified of the cab driver seeing, but there was an intense fluttering in her stomach that made it impossible to stop this. It made her part her legs a little more, inviting the hand to keep going.

Blue met her gaze, stare alternating between her eyes and her lips as her hand slid back down to Asami's knee. Despite the torturously nervous heat in her cheeks, Asami was disappointed. She didn't want it to go down; she wanted it to go up until those fingers met the moisture she could feel building between her thighs. She wanted it so bad that her eyebrows furrowed pleadingly, and when Blue gave her what she wanted and started another ascent, her lips fell open with breathless anticipation.

The warm fingers trailed up the inside of her thigh until they reached the high curve. They were only inches away, and Asami could feel the speed of her heartbeat pulsing between her legs, but the hand stopped. It couldn't go any higher until she gave it more room, but, _fuck_ , her dress was too tight. She couldn't spread her legs anymore without lifting the skirt of it to her hips, but she hadn't worn underwear because of how tight it was and that would leave her _so_ exposed.

Asami glanced down at the hand between her legs with indecision, and then up again at the patient look in Blue's eyes. It was so hard to want to resist with the hot feel of the palm on her thigh, and she was so impatient to know those fingers. To feel them against her. To feel them _in_ her. That thought caused a stabbing need to shoot through her, and never in her life could she remember needing so badly to be touched. _Fuck it_ , she thought as she grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it up past her thighs, and she barely registered the mixed look of shock and desire that went through Blue's eyes before she pulled her into a kiss, and Blue didn't miss the opportunity.

She pushed Asami sideways in the seat and back against the door, switching hands so she'd have a better angle, and Asami faintly registered the cab driver mumbling sarcastically about hating Fridays. At least she could ignore him, because Blue didn't hesitate to slide her hand all the way up the inside of Asami's leg, and she nearly forgot they were even inside a cab. A middle finger traced along the outside of Asami's center, and she was so desperate for the real thing that her hips throbbed pleadingly.

It was _such_ a relief when Blue's hand moved inward, but when she'd thought 'fuck it,' she hadn't been thinking about the noises she might make. Because a single finger circled through the profound wetness between her legs, and the only way she managed to catch the moan in her throat was by biting down on Blue's bottom lip. At the back of her mind was the instant thought to apologize, because she'd bit _hard_ , but the lip between her teeth thinned as Blue smirked into the kiss, and like she'd just made it a goal to see if she could get Asami to release a moan, the length of her finger slid teasingly along Asami's clit.

Asami's head fell back against the window, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight as lips dropped to her neck, trying desperately to focus on keeping sounds from leaving her mouth. As hard as it was with the skilled finger stroking through her, she was managing to stay quiet, at least until the tip of that finger dropped and pressed against her entrance. If it pushed into her, she knew there was no way she'd be able to stay quiet, but at the same moment she thought with panic _she's about to fuck me in a cab,_ she also shifted her hips to give Blue a better angle. And she was ready. She was _so_ goddamn ready for Blue to take her, but before that sweet finger slid into her, the cab lurched to a halt.

"Here, ladies," the driver called without looking back. He knew. God, he totally knew.

Asami reached down for the clutch she'd dropped to the floor, grateful that Blue pulled her dress down to cover her thighs as she blindly took a bill out of it and tossed it forward to the driver. She didn't care that it was a hundred dollars, she wanted so badly to be in the house already with no more interruptions that she barely even noticed.

They rushed out of the car to hurry up the walkway to Asami's house, but even the paved path was too long. She turned after a couple feet to curl her arms around Blue's neck and return to a kiss, feeling eager hands grab at her hips. It slowed their progress toward the house for a few moments before Blue wrapped a strong arm around Asami's waist, leaned to grab behind her knee with the other and then lifted. She picked Asami up and instructed her legs around her waist, and, now that they didn't have to worry about Asami falling from walking backward in heels, she hurried the remaining distance to the house.

Asami's back hit the front door, and even though she released her legs' hold in order to plant her feet on the ground, Blue didn't stop kissing her and pressing up against her. And god, did she _not_ mind. She unfolded her arms from Blue's neck to reach into her clutch for her house keys, and as she pulled them out, she felt those warm hands cup her face. The kiss didn't slow or lose anything in depth, but the touch was soft, just like Blue nuzzling into her neck before they left the club, and it made Asami _weak_. Everything about this girl was warm and comfortable, and at the back of her mind she wondered if she didn't want this to just be a one-night stand.

Asami had her keys, but she wasn't willing to break the kiss in order to glance down and find the keyhole, so she was clumsily scratching the key back against the door handle, hoping to get lucky. After a few moments, one of Blue's hands left her face and reached down. It folded gently around hers, and guided it where it needed to be. She turned the key in the lock, so eager to be inside that she barely managed to pull it out again before closing the door behind them.

The moment they were inside, all sense of restraint snapped. Asami grabbed the opening of Blue's flannel while she kicked her own heels off, pushing it down Blue's shoulders and arms until it fell to the floor on their way to the stairs. No matter how badly Asami wanted to hurry and get to the end of exactly where this was heading, she couldn't bring herself to break the kiss long enough to rush up the steps.

They only went a few of those steps before Asami pushed Blue back against the banister, taking the hem of her tank top and lifting it over her head when she raised her arms in the air. Asami discarded the article of clothing, meeting dark flesh with her hands and pressing to feel the muscles underneath. And it wasn't just Blue's muscle. She was strong and fit, but Asami could see the swell of her breasts teasing from behind the top of her bra, and they looked _so perfect_. Her need to see and feel the entirety of them outweighed the lingering throb between her legs.

As Asami felt a hand reach for the zipper at the side of her dress, she slipped her hands around to Blue's back. She unhooked the bra and then let go, because the zipper of her dress had been completely undone, and while she put just enough space between them to slide the dress down her body, Blue let her bra fall to the stairs. The moment Asami took her dress off, those bright eyes did a long and slow scan of her figure. It was the first time she'd seen Blue _actually_ check her out, and if she was about to be self-conscious for wearing nothing but a strapless bra, that feeling was completely shattered when she watched Blue's tongue wet her bottom lip with expectation.

Asami took a backward step up the stairs, gaze locked on those gorgeous blue eyes and resisting the powerful urge to halt further progress toward her bedroom. They were halfway there, and Blue matched every step Asami took, maintaining that one-stair distance until they reached the top. The door to Asami's room was _right there_ , just across the hall, and they were so close, but then Blue's hands set on her hips. The lack of heels shortened their height difference, so all Blue had to do to reach her was lean in. She planted a delicate kiss to Asami's cheek and then dragged her lips along Asami's jawline, down to her neck to kiss at the spot where she knew she'd have a bruise in the morning.

And they'd only just met. Asami didn't even know this girl's name, but she kept stopping their blazing journey toward sex to be gentle. It was like a constant reassurance that Asami had no reason to be afraid or uncomfortable. She could _feel_ how much Blue wanted her every time they kissed and every time those strong hands touched her, but these mellow pauses were like a considerate reminder that she could change her mind if she wanted to. It felt like _romance,_ and it made her heart flutter because _where_ did this girl _come from_?

It also made her need that much stronger, and when Blue finally traveled back up to her mouth, she parted her lips hungrily. She wrapped her arms tight around Blue's neck, and pulled backward toward her room so eagerly that she almost lost balance. The wall beside her door caught them, but every time they got back into the heat of it, she couldn't keep their progress at a consistent pace. She stopped again without breaking the kiss to reach for the button of Blue's shorts, and no sooner had she undone it that she realized that perfect chest was still begging for attention.

Asami's hands ran up taut abs, grazing the lines of muscle and then rounding the curve of Blue's breasts. When she finally grabbed both in her hands, Blue let out such a hard breath that it pulled her away from the kiss, and she _tried_ to get back to it. Tried to press her mouth to Asami's again, but she was breathing too jaggedly, and with each new knead against her chest, her eyes lidded. After a few more seconds, Asami flicked her thumb over a stiff nipple, and when Blue weakly dropped her head forward against the wall, she got bold enough to pinch it between her fingers. Even more encouraging was that the hands that had been on her waist dropped to her backside, and they squeezed with each exhale against her ear and each pulse of their hips.

The body rolling against hers and into her hands made her want to use her mouth. She wanted to run her tongue over those sculpted abs and leave kisses all over that beautiful dark skin, but as that thought occurred to her, she felt lips graze her ear. It took Blue a moment to speak because she was so breathless with excitement, but then she panted, "I want to taste you."

 _Fuck_. Her voice was raspy with desire, and Asami realized that they were the very first words to have left her mouth since they met. _Those_ words. Words hot and wet against her ear, words with so much weight and implication and _need_. Words that had such a profound effect on her, and that sent such a powerful rush of desire barreling through her body that she clenched so hard she whimpered. Her hands landed on Blue's shoulders, pushing down with just enough pressure to plead for it.

Blue slid down her body, leaving only two open kisses along Asami's abdomen before dropping to her knees. She slipped one hand to the back of Asami's calf, guiding it upward until the back of that same leg was resting over her shoulder, and she pressed another kiss to the inside of Asami's thigh. Asami couldn't help it, she was so desperate to finally get what she wanted that a hand combed through Blue's hair, setting against the back of her head with urgency.

There wasn't another moment of torturous teasing, and Blue buried her mouth between Asami's legs. Like every kiss they shared, Blue's lips were open and warm and skilled, but now her tongue was a dominant presence. The first searing graze of it through Asami's silk made her hips buck forward. Her hand clenched at the back of Blue's head, and when the flat of that tongue flicked over her clit, it drew a moan from her throat.

It was already amazing. She was so turned on from the endless tension and foreplay that every run of Blue's tongue between that sensitive point of nerves and her entrance had her increasingly weak. Even though it was obvious Blue was toying with her by withholding constant stimulation where she needed it most, she was so turned on that she could've finished anyway. But then a hand glided up the inside of her thigh, and she was so wet that there wasn't a hitch in the movement as the hand reached the height of Blue's chin, and a single finger slid into her effortlessly.

There was absolutely nothing she could do. That finger hooked upward at the same moment Blue's tongue made a particularly accurate stroke, and she was done. Asami was so taken by the overwhelming speed and intensity of her climax that a shout escaped her lips. It was a loud yell as her eyes slammed shut, and her whole body tensed so tightly it cut the sound off short into a breathless moan. It coursed through her so powerfully that her legs nearly gave out, and all she could do to keep from collapsing was set her free hand against Blue's shoulder and hope she was stable enough to keep them both up.

The thrusting of her hips against Blue's mouth lasted through every pulse and clench, slowing after the height of climax until it ended and Asami's head fell back against the wall. She was gasping for air, taking a moment to recover so that when she did she could return the favor. While she breathed, she felt Blue's tongue slip down to meet the finger still inside her, gathering an indulgent taste of her release. She clenched with an aftershock against the feeling of it, and in response, the finger slowly pumped into her.

And it didn't stop. It picked up a steady rhythm while Blue's tongue wandered back up, starting the process all over again. It coaxed a euphoric sigh from Asami's chest, and she glanced down to watch while a second string of tension built, but what she saw put her back on edge instantly. Past Blue's shoulders and between her breasts, Asami could see that she had her own free hand in her open shorts. She was so aroused with what she was doing between Asami's legs that she couldn't wait to get some relief between her own, and that was _such_ an incredible turn on that Asami was beyond built up.

She moaned through pursed lips, hand clenching in Blue's hair as she struggled to keep from reaching climax again prematurely, because she was going to come _soon_ , and she could feel already that it would be strong. "Harder," she whispered on a breath, barely able to get the plea out because she was concentrating so hard on not falling apart.

The finger inside her picked up speed, pushing deeper with every thrust. It was already difficult to keep from coming, but when she got her request of harder, the sheer struggle of focusing put spots in her vision. She was teetering on the edge, blood throbbing so frenziedly under Blue's tongue that it was painful, and she was almost to the point where no amount of effort would do any good.

"I'm-" she panted brokenly. "God, I'm-"

When she failed to finish her thought a second time, Blue hummed against her, and that was it. The vibrations between her legs sent her spiraling. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth with the start of a profanity, but it was lost on another incoherent shout as her back arched away from the wall. And it _was_ stronger than the first. It was so strong that she _needed_ to grab something, and the only option she had was tangling her fingers in Blue's hair as she rocked over tongue and finger. It was so strong that she couldn't have stopped the noise leaving her throat even if she tried. Each time she exhaled, it carried a high moan and whimper, shaky with the exhausted tension in every muscle of her body.

By the time it ended, she was struggling once more for air, and her legs were trembling with the effort to keep herself up. "I can't stand much longer," she said amusedly.

Blue's lips moved away as she let out a huff of laughter. While she gently pulled her finger out, she pressed a soft kiss to Asami's hip, and then she stood. She'd taken her hand out of her own shorts too, and even though she lowered her mouth to Asami's neck like she was content to keep waiting for it, Asami didn't want her to wait any longer. So she grabbed one of Blue's hands, sidestepping through the door of her bedroom. As she led the way back toward the bed, she realized the hand she was holding was the one that had been in Blue's shorts, and she knew there'd be a coating of wetness against a finger. She couldn't resist the urge she had to lift that hand, searching for the right finger and then guiding it to her lips.

When the flat of her tongue ran over the pad of it, she watched Blue's eyes flutter with a heavy beat of arousal, and she took in such a jolted breath it was audible. That was it though, just the breath, and Asami couldn't help but think that Blue was quiet. _So_ quiet. The backs of her legs hit the bed, and as she turned Blue around, Asami had the overwhelming urge to make sure she wouldn't stay quiet. She gave a gentle push, and when Blue fell onto her back on the bed, she reached for her clothes. She pulled down shorts and underwear at once, tossing them behind her and then following toward the center of the bed.

Part of making sure she got the noises she was after meant teasing, and she could _do_ teasing. Even from here, she could see the glistening silk waiting for her at Blue's core. It made it hard to resist going straight for it, but the only way she could be sure Blue was as desperate as she'd been was to make her _say_ it. So she set her hips between Blue's legs, kissing low on her abdomen and pleased at the sharp intake of air. Her lips opened against that smooth flesh, pressing wet, open pecks up the side of Blue's stomach and between her ribs. Every once in a while, her teeth followed, and as her mouth worked higher, she steadily slid a hand in the opposite direction.

The longer Asami took to do anything significant, the more visibly stirred Blue got. One hand set on her hip, and the other on the back of her shoulder, and they got more restless with every moment that passed by. She worked her lips upward, widely circling the hardened point at the center of a breast while her hand finally dipped between Blue's legs. But she didn't offer any relief, not with her hand. Her middle finger worked through slick folds, purposefully avoiding the spot she knew Blue wanted, but she gave something by flicking her tongue over a nipple.

Blue sucked in a stunted breath, clutching with the hand on Asami's hip while her other slid down to Asami's elbow. She hummed with satisfaction at the next motion of Asami's tongue, but her hips throbbed with need. Every pass of Asami's finger was met with a desperate pulse, and the hand on her elbow nudged with request. She was so close to getting what she wanted, she could feel it. So she dropped her finger to Blue's entrance, pushing in only the tip of it before sliding back up.

On half desperate whimper and half exasperated laugh, Blue accused, "You're _such_ a _tease_."

Asami smirked, planting a kiss to the center of her chest before glancing up at her. "Just seeing if I could get you to talk," she said playfully, dipping the very tip of her finger back in.

" _Yes_ ," Blue breathed. "God, I talk," she said imploringly, rocking her hips down to try and get Asami to enter her completely. "I talk so much, I never shut up, I promise." She groaned as Asami pushed in a little farther. "Whatever you want, _please,_ just _fuck me_."

If the sheer urgency behind the plea hadn't caused Asami's face to flush with fresh arousal, she might've reeled at how downright cute it was how Blue had just shattered her silent aura. At this point, however, she was just as desperate for it. She pushed her finger all the way in, hot silk tightening around her as a relieved moan reached her ears. And there would be no more teasing.

Asami lowered herself down Blue's body, and her tongue immediately found the stiff point of Blue's clit and it fell into rhythm with the thrust of her hand. There was another loud noise from above her, and Asami was already getting exactly what she wanted, but she also wanted Blue to be completely satisfied. So her free hand stretched upward and set to work on a breast. She massaged with her palm and grazed and caressed with her thumb, loving the way she could feel the chest beneath it rise and fall with each increasingly hard breath.

It achieved exactly what she wanted. One of Blue's hands grabbed the one on her chest, squeezing and pushing with eager acceptance while her hips ground against Asami's mouth and finger. And Asami could feel her losing control. Could feel the hand on hers alternate between splaying and clenching while the motion of the soaked flesh against her tongue grew increasingly uneven.

Watching her start to come undone was… it was hot. _So_ hot, and somehow knowing that Blue was cute and gentle while also being able to bring Asami to climax twice in as many minutes made her _that_ much hotter. At the increasing itch of her own arousal, Asami's hands and tongue worked harder to bring pleasure, and it only took a few more seconds for it to push Blue over the edge.

She drew in a long, deep breath as the curve of her back bowed away from the mattress, and when she released it again it was in heavy moan. Her hips pushed down hard, seeking as much pressure as they could, and Asami tried to give all that she needed. She didn't stop stroking her tongue or thrusting her hand no matter how badly she wanted to pull back and watch. She let Blue drive herself over her tongue and finger until she stopped moaning and writhing and settled back onto the bed.

When it ended, Blue just lay there. Asami could see her lips moving, but it wasn't until she removed her hand and inched up to sit over Blue's hips that she could make out the absent words. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,' is what she was mouthing repeatedly, with her eyes shut and her arms tossed out to either side of her with tired contentment. Asami couldn't resist the urge to lean down and kiss her, and Blue didn't seem to care how she tasted as lips parted against hers.

They only kissed for a few moments before Asami felt a hand slide up the inside of her thigh. She thought it was only to touch – with how little she knew about Blue, she at least knew she was into affection. But the hand continued as high as it could go, making a gentle caress through the remaining silk to see if Asami would protest. She didn't, and so a finger slid into her.

Asami straightened, eyes fluttering with pleasure when Blue used her hips as leverage, rocking them upward to push deeper. She even ground forward to meet the next thrust of Blue's hips, and she was still so sensitive and excited that she could already feel herself crashing toward the end. She couldn't slow it, especially when Blue added another finger. The subtle fullness was incredible, and as if it wasn't enough, Blue's free hand reached for one of Asami's, guiding it toward her center with the silent instruction to touch herself.

"God, you're," Asami breathed, setting her hand into motion between her legs. "You're _so hot_."

Blue _smiled_ at her, with that big smile and those bright blue eyes. Asami ground down on her fingers, and she knew exactly how to touch herself and how fast and where and she was absolutely, one hundred percent _already coming again_. It didn't last nearly as long as the first two, but it was just as strong and it left her just as breathless, so that she was panting by the time it ended.

The moment those fingers pulled out of her, she collapsed forward, so exhausted that she couldn't bring herself to fall anywhere but right on top of Blue. For a long minute, she just laid there, face buried in Blue's neck. Then she snickered amusedly, lifting up just enough to meet those blue eyes. "I owe you a couple of orgasms." She sighed and dropped her head again. "Just give me a few minutes."

"It's okay," Blue laughed, pressing a kiss to Asami's shoulder. "Don't worry about it." Her lips didn't stop either. They kept trailing soft pecks back and forth across Asami's shoulder and up her neck. After a few seconds, Asami couldn't help but look, wanting to watch those tranquil lips land repeatedly against her skin. Only, Blue stopped when she realized Asami was looking. "Sorry."

"No, it's-" She faltered, not wanting to repeat 'it's okay.' Instead, she gave a small smile and said, "I like it." In reply, another peck was pressed to her shoulder. "I'd get off of you," Asami chuckled apologetically, "But I can't move just yet."

Blue's warm, gentle hands set on her waist, as if to offer reassurance as she said, "Take your time."

Asami did take her time, and though she fully intended to stop crushing Blue with her weight at some point, she fell asleep before she could recover enough to move. She woke the next morning feeling a warm body next to hers, and somehow they'd gotten under the blankets and something about Blue still being in her bed made her heart skip. They were facing each other; she could tell that even with her eyes closed because she could feel Blue's arm beneath her head, and her own was draped over Blue's waist. She opened her eyes, meeting a light gaze that had clearly been awake for some time.

"Been staring long?" Asami asked teasingly. The drunken fog was out of her head, and somehow Blue seemed even more attractive in the morning light shining through her bedroom window.

Especially when her dark cheeks colored with a blush, and her bottom lip tugged down in a wince. "Sorry," she said. "I've never really done this before, and I wasn't sure if I was just supposed to leave without saying anything." She paused, and Asami got the feeling she really was a talker. "And then I realized that you're kind of even prettier when I'm sober, and I couldn't stop looking at you." She immediately squeezed her eyes shut with another wince. "Crap, that sounded creepy… I wasn't going to _do_ anything… it's just… my arm's stuck under your head and I didn't want to wake you up."

 _Oh my god_ , Asami thought as a massive smile tugged at her lips, _she's fucking adorable_. "Can I ask you something?" Asami asked amusedly, to which Blue gave an embarrassed nod. "Can I kiss you?"

"What?" she asked in shock, but that didn't seem to portray what she was really thinking, because she immediately added, "I mean yeah, okay, if you want to." Asami leaned across the small space between them and pressed a soft, slow kiss to Blue's lips, amazed that they somehow had even more tenderness than they did last night. She ended the kiss without completely pulling away, and Blue muttered against her mouth, "…you're still naked…"

Asami nearly snorted. "You're more naked than I am."

"That," Blue began, leaning back and pulling the blanket up to look down at her body, "is very true."

"Can I ask you something else?" Asami giggled, and Blue hummed her consent. "What's your name?"

Blue laughed, another faint blush coloring her cheeks. "Korra," she answered. "You?"

"Asami," she replied. "Korra," she said, testing the name out for herself. She liked the way it sounded, liked the way it felt on her tongue, and part of her wished she'd known it last night… "Korra," she repeated slowly, and Korra chuckled amusedly. "Do you want to, I don't know, go get breakfast with me?"

Korra grinned that big, bright, easy grin that had been so magnetic last night, and she answered without hesitation, "Yeah."


	2. Red

_*** Some of you requested that I do Blue from Korra's POV, and seeing as it was something that had crossed my mind when I wrote Blue, I figured why not. So, here you are, smutty events as Korra experienced them, appropriately titled Red._

 _A lot of you have also requested their breakfast date, so I will be doing that too :). I'll post it eventually as a chapter 3, and it'll be their breakfast and some extra (fluffy) stuff afterward._

 _Alrighty, proceed!_

… _.._

Korra was dancing with Mako, Bolin, and Opal, having the time of her life and thanks, in large part, to the amount of alcohol she'd consumed. It wasn't enough to get her plastered, but it was definitely enough that she was no longer even remotely shy about dancing in a club. Not that she didn't like to dance… but people could see her here, and before knocking back a few drinks, that idea had been slightly nerve-wracking. Now she was shaking her hips and moving her feet and laughing because she was having so much fun, and her friends looked like they were having just as much fun as she was.

On her next sway, Korra glanced up, inadvertently locking eyes with a girl who, it appeared, had been staring at her. And she was _gorgeous_. She was tall in her heels, and the heels seemed to accentuate the curves that were already on display because of her tight red dress. Her black hair was long and falling over her smooth, exposed shoulders and okay, yeah, she was _definitely_ staring at Korra. Korra grinned at her, something she was probably only capable of because of the alcohol, and then immediately looked away. If they kept looking at each other like _that_ , she was bound to get flustered.

Korra went back to focusing on dancing with her friends. While the amount of people, and the fact that personal space wasn't entirely a thing in a club, usually made Korra a bit apprehensive, right now she really didn't care. She was having too great a time. At least, that was until someone started encroaching a bit from behind her. Bolin and Mako had been pretty diligent about cutting it off if a guy came up behind her to try and dance, and though she made eye contact with them, they were making no moves toward whoever it was.

It only took a brief glance backward to catch the flash of red, and when Korra fully looked and realized it was the girl she'd made eye contact with, her stomach fluttered. She'd _actually_ come over, and she tossed a look over her shoulder to see if Korra noticed. Korra _totally_ noticed, and screw nerves and getting flustered, they could go to hell, because the girl in the red dress and heels and with red lipstick had wandered over and Korra was _excited_ about this. Red. She liked that.

To make sure Red really wanted to dance _with_ her and not just nearby, Korra pressed back against her playfully. Though she didn't give the most enthusiastic response, she didn't pull away either, so Korra turned around to push it a bit further. She got close enough for Red to feel her there, to feel her hips and her chest and to give her the opportunity to dance or reestablish a comfortable distance. And she _backed up into Korra_. Like _right_ up against her, with those curves that were already enough to give Korra a heart attack even without being able to feel them swaying against her.

Korra glanced behind her to check if her friends were seeing this, because there was a part of her that couldn't believe this was really happening. That couldn't believe this gorgeous, sexy woman had actually sought her out to dance. But her friends were definitely watching, each of their eyes wide with wonder. This was absolutely happening, and Korra focused back on the body in front of her, lifting her hands with the intense urge to set them on this girl's waist, but freezing before actually doing it because what if it was too much?

For a long moment, her hands hovered there with indecision. It was _so_ tempting, and she wanted so badly to feel with her hands what she could feel with her hips. Wanted to follow the sway and rhythm, and maybe if hands were okay then it would be okay for her to get even closer. The worst that could happen is Red didn't like it. _If she isn't a fan_ , Korra thought, _I'll stop_.

So Korra's hands set gently on Red's waist, and she paid close attention for tensing or flinching or anything that might indicate this wasn't okay. Nothing. Her mouth pulled into an involuntarily wide grin at the acceptance of her touch, and a million times better was the fact that, after a short time, Red's hands set on hers. They instructed them forward with something Korra could only understand as request to do more, and she was _so_ completely ready for that.

With that subtle request, Korra took the liberty of pulling Red even closer, so her body could attentively follow the movement of every curve her hands explored. And fuck, _those curves_. The red dress was tight and the fabric was thin and it left so little to the imagination. Korra's hands dropped to Red's hips, fighting the urge to press her fingers into the flesh on them as she accompanied them through a sway. The dress was so thin that she could totally tell Red wasn't wearing any underwear. There wasn't a lip or hitch of fabric anywhere on her hips and _god, Korra, don't think about that_.

But she _felt so good_. Korra loved using her hands, loved feeling textures and depths as she ran them up and down Red's waist, and the rocking of the curves beneath them was incredible. It was sexy and hot and she couldn't resist slipping her hands forward to feel what the front of Red was like too. She couldn't go up or down, though she so desperately wanted to. Wanted to feel abs and ribs and… okay, she wanted to feel _everything_ that was teasing her underneath that thin red dress. She wanted to grab and caress and show Red's incredible body the kind of tender appreciation it deserved, but she _couldn't,_ because feeling up a random woman in a club like that was a surefire way to get slapped, and Korra absolutely wasn't going to ruin this by being creepy or getting overly handsy.

It was distracting enough and helped satiate some intense urges that Red smelled so good. Her long hair hung loose at her back and they were so close that she was all Korra could smell. The sweet, floral scent of shampoo or perfume was enough to drown out the thick air of the club, and Red had worked up enough heat dancing all night that underneath it was a hint of her natural scent. Everything about her was irresistible. Korra had never, ever been so intensely attracted to someone, and not once since this started had she been able to wipe the stupid smirk off her face.

Just when Korra convinced herself she could stay satisfied with the way they were dancing, Red began turning around. Her hands set over Korra's shoulders and, if it was possible, she was infinitely more beautiful this close up. Her eyes were an enchanting shade of green, her full red lips were a stark contrast to the smoothness of her light skin, and _her jawline_. Korra didn't allow herself to gaze longer than a brief moment because she didn't want to blatantly check Red out, but her jawline led so gracefully to her slender neck, and a few strands of hair were sticking to her pulse point with sweat and Korra wanted to taste it. Wanted her lips and tongue to learn the taste that was associated with the scent her nose had already discovered.

When Red finished turning, she pressed their bodies together again and their gazes locked, and Korra couldn't look away. Those bright green eyes were so focused, so full of thought and complexity and a humble confidence that all Korra could do was stare in wonder. It was so intense that her stomach flipped, and if she didn't do something to distract herself from the mutual level of interest she could see in that gaze, then she was bound to lose her nerve.

So she worked her hands around to Red's back, so incredibly glad for the fine material of the dress as she slid them upwards. It allowed her to feel the soft slope of Red's spine, the slants of slender muscle, the dip of her shoulder blades, and when Korra reached skin at the top of her back, she dropped back down to her waist. Korra loved the feel of the hips moving beneath her hands, and they were still looking into each other's eyes and she hoped it wasn't obvious how stirred she was. Because she was enjoying this _way_ more than she should be.

Especially when Red's gaze dropped to Korra's lips and lingered. She was _staring_ at Korra's mouth, and Korra wasn't even sure she had the right idea, but all she could think was _yes, please, you can absolutely kiss me._ It barely crossed her mind that she'd never done this before, or that there was a reason she'd never done this before, because maybe kissing someone you'd just met in a club wasn't the smartest idea. But everything about this girl was so drop dead gorgeous that she was far from caring.

Even more encouraging was that Red's arms slipped farther over her shoulders. It felt like the first move, like a subtle reciprocation to Korra's thoughts about a kiss, but that was it. She only got a little closer, and it wasn't as close as Korra wanted. So Korra started stretching upward, gradually because no matter how desperate she was to be right about the plea in Red's eyes, she couldn't be sure. She kept her hands on the back of Red's hips, heart hammering nervously in her chest because if she was wrong about this, it could be a disaster, but she was hardly more than an inch away now and Red had yet to pull back. That made her confident enough to set their foreheads together.

 _Okay_ , Korra thought, gaze leaving green eyes to glance down at red lips, _your turn_. It was like Red could read her mind, because she brushed the tip of Korra's nose with her own. Korra didn't know if she was shy, or flirting, or stubborn, but when that was all that happened, her gaze lifted again. She watched those green eyes intently for sign of protest or discomfort while her lips parted, and she leaned in to brush Red's mouth with request, refusing to close the distance because she'd come most of the way. _Do it_ , she pleaded mentally, _kiss me_.

And _she did_. Bright red lips met Korra's, and her heart skipped so powerfully it knocked the breath out of her. Her lips parted even more as if to recover air, but it deepened the kiss instead and _god_ , she'd take that over breathing any day of the week. Without thinking, her hands pressed harder into Red's back to draw her closer, and somehow her intoxicating scent was even stronger now that Korra was this close and now that Red's arms tightened around her neck with reception. Korra wanted to lose herself in it. Was _already_ lost in it, and in the curve of the hips in her hands and in the eager way Red's lips followed hers when they parted again invitingly.

This girl was electric. Every cell in Korra's body was exploding with excitement and need and she'd never been kissed like this before, so openly and deeply and with such undeniable tension. Korra was holding back, she'd _been_ holding back since they started dancing, but she could sense a similar restraint in the lips against hers. Red wanted this, Korra had never been so sure of anything in her life.

Despite that, it felt like no time at all before Red pulled away, and Korra's pulse spiked with panic that she'd pushed it too far and, for a moment, her confidence plummeted. But then she recognized the look as embarrassment rather than shame or displeasure. She knew Red had been into it, she'd _felt_ it, and maybe she wouldn't have pulled back if they weren't in the middle of a dance floor. If only they could find a dark corner…

Korra's searching gaze fixed on the bathroom across the venue, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Red follow the look. Then a hand grabbed hers, and she could feel her friends gaping from behind her as Red started pulling her across the dance floor, but she didn't spare a glance back at them.

They reached the bathroom fast, and Red let go of her hand and once she was in, she turned, threw the door shut behind them and locked it. Red had gone toward the sink counter, and the new space between them was too wide. Korra didn't like it, so she took a hasty step forward only to stop before completely closing the distance. Everything in her wanted kissing and touching and, fuck, she wanted it to be so relentless she wouldn't be able to breathe. She wanted _all_ of this girl, but she didn't know how aggressive she could be about it. Didn't know if that kind of earnestness would be intimidating now that they were alone, even though they'd come in here for that purpose. She didn't want to scare Red with how much she loved using her hands, didn't want to make her uncomfortable with what they were doing.

Korra's teeth tugged her bottom lip with indecision, but hardly a moment later Red tossed her clutch beside the sink, and reached out to grab the collar of her flannel, pulling her in. It was all the permission Korra needed. Her hands set on Red's waist as their lips met, and she pushed back until they were against the counter so she could get as close as possible. But Red's hips pulsed into her, and it just made Korra think that this still wasn't close enough. Her fingers grabbed with need as she leaned in closer, pressing their bodies tight together and feeling Red move against her with reception.

She wasn't worried about trying to get handsy now, because Red was clinging to her, arms around her neck and leaving her pulsing body open. It felt like invitation, and when she began to run her hands over hips and waist and back, there was no hitch of reluctance in the kiss, or in the way Red kept grinding against her. The only torturous thing about being able to touch was that she wanted to touch _everywhere_ , and all at once. It made her hands incapable of deciding on one place to stop. It made her push the front of her body so hard and close that she couldn't see how the back of Red's hips weren't digging painfully into the counter, but if they were, she made no sign of it.

Instead, everything about Red was eager. Her lips were open and yielding, her breathing was hard and fast and shallow, and every exhale fell hot into Korra's mouth. Korra was so caught up in everything she was feeling that she hardly noticed Red hadn't used her hands much. Not until they reached for the top button of her flannel, and then her stomach flipped because _yes, open it, touch me._ She'd never wanted so badly to feel hands against her skin, and she wanted it faster.

So she left Red's mouth for her neck, hoping it would allow for the focus to undo the buttons more quickly. Only, Korra's lips parted against the smooth flesh on Red's neck and she _sighed_ her earnest acceptance out loud. In combination with the delicious salt that met Korra's tongue, the sound caused a jolt of need to shoot through her, and her lips instantly fixed on the sensitive muscle beneath them. She sucked hard, feeling a hand rush up to run through the back of her hair. Every time Red showed appreciation for what Korra did, it gave her butterflies. It made the steady pulse between her legs beat stronger and it made her want to do _more_. While that hand returned to finish undoing buttons, her own hands kept exploring, and she sucked so hard she knew she'd leave a dark bruise.

Then _finally_ the flannel was undone, and Korra ignored the knock on the door as Red's hands slipped under her tank top because _actually_ feeling them against that sensitive skin made her breath catch. And that hitch in her breathing put a lull in her mouth's suction on Red's neck, so she pressed her tongue deep against that muscle instead. _Fuck_ , the _sound_ that escaped Red's throat this time. It was more broken and more desperate, and Korra couldn't even control it that she reacted without thinking. That she dropped her hands below Red's waist to finally grab the plump flesh of her backside as she bit down on Red's neck, and in response to it, nails dragged down her bare stomach. The pleasant sting caused her to release a groan through her teeth, and as it died, there was another knock on the door.

It was distracting, and it caused Korra to release the intense hold of her mouth because instead of allowing herself to react, she was wishing whoever was at the door would go away. She did her best to ignore it as she pressed a gentle kiss to the soft indents her teeth had made, because even if Red had clearly liked it, she didn't want to give the impression that she was reckless, or that she didn't care if it might've hurt.

As she did, Red's backside pulsed into the grip of her hands, as if to add motivation when she asked breathlessly, "Do you want to go home with me?" Korra didn't need motivation, she hummed her approval as she kissed around to the front of Red's neck. "Right now?" Red asked.

Korra could hear the longing in her voice to leave immediately, but she just _smelled so good_. Korra hummed once more as she released her hands' sultry grip and buried her face in Red's neck, where the scent was strongest to surround herself with it. She closed her eyes and nuzzled in to take a soft breath and she couldn't bring herself to pull away, even if it meant going somewhere more private, because she didn't want their contact to end for even a second. And despite her yearning, Red didn't seem to mind.

Not until there was a third knock on the door. Then Red grabbed her clutch off the counter in one hand and grabbed Korra with the other, pulling her out the door and past the annoying person who seemed as equally annoyed with them. They rushed all the way out of the club and to the line of taxis, and Red told the driver her address while Korra climbed in after her. She scooted all the way across the seat and set her hand on Red's thigh in order to be as close as possible, and maybe also because a part of her feared that even a short drive without any contact would lessen their excitement about this or ruin the mood.

Maybe she should've known better, because they'd hardly started the drive when Korra felt the thigh beneath her hand shift. It parted just slightly, and there was so much heat radiating between Red's legs that she didn't even think to resist when she slid her hand upward in search of it. It was so enticing that she didn't care where they were, she wasn't thinking with her head and all she wanted was to _feel_. No… what she _really_ wanted was to taste, but not even the alcohol could get her to try for it in a cab.

When her hand reached the halfway height, she began sliding it back down toward Red's knee while she glanced up to meet her gaze. Though her focus kept dropping to those full red lips, she tried to keep it at Red's eyes, searching for permission or hesitation because as much as she wanted this, she didn't want to force it if Red wasn't comfortable with it. She could wait if she really had to. But then Red's eyebrows converged with a clear, desperate request to continue, and Korra wanted it so bad that her hand started back up instantly.

She traced her fingers up the inside of Red's thigh, only stopping because she got so high that she met the other leg. She couldn't get any higher unless Red gave her the space, not without pushing her hand between her thighs, but she wouldn't. No matter how desperate the look in Red's eyes, she wouldn't do it unless she got a more sure consent, unless Red opened herself up for it and _god_ , Korra wished she would. But she waited, trying so hard not to let the desire show on her face because she didn't want to add pressure to the conflict in Red's gaze. To the green eyes that kept going back and forth between Korra's face and her hand. And as much as it killed her, Korra liked that conflict. Liked the underlying innocence in Red's hesitation, as if maybe this wasn't a normal thing for her to do either, but she was doing it for Korra. Like Korra was an exception, and that thought made her heart stutter.

It was that same conflict that made it completely shocking when Red pulled the skirt of her dress up to her hips so she could spread her legs as much as she needed. It left her completely bare, and heat went rushing down Korra's chest as she glimpsed her destination for a brief moment before she was pulled into a kiss. All she could think as she pushed Red sideways in the seat and back against the door was _fuck yes_. But then she switched hands and slid it all the way up and that 'fuck yes' was a _major_ understatement. Because even though she only traced along the outside of Red's core, she could feel the moisture waiting for her. Red was _so wet_ , and her hips bobbed to ask for the real thing and Korra _clenched_ because being wanted like this was such an incredible turn on.

She gave in to the plea, sliding her finger inward in search of Red's clit, and when she found it, she circled wide, testing for the right motion. And she must've done something right, because teeth bit down _hard_ on her bottom lip. It hurt, but the intense reaction to her touch caused her to smile into the kiss, and she wanted more of it. Wanted another of those breathy sounds she'd heard in the bathroom that were almost as good as sex themselves. So she tested another motion and slid the length of her finger down that sensitive point of nerves, and though it didn't earn her a noise, Red's head fell back against the window.

The look on Red's face made Korra painfully aware of the growing throb between her own legs. The lidded green eyes and slightly parted red lips were an irresistibly stirring sign of pleasure, but just as enticing was the bobbing of her throat. It took hardly a moment for Korra's desire to smell and taste won out, and she dipped forward to let her mouth keep exploring Red's neck.

As much as she'd fallen in love with the crook of Red's neck, she adored the feeling against her finger. The softness, the moisture, the _heat_. Korra loved that Red was letting her do it, compliant to every stroke at her core and every nip at her neck, and that it was making her weak. But Korra still wanted to taste what her finger could feel, and the fact that it would be pushing things too far was vexing. She was tired of holding back. Tired of not being able to savor every motion and sound or taste and feel every inch that she craved.

The closest to everything she could get now was dropping her finger, setting it at Red's entrance and waiting for the signal that she could. Waiting for the pleading looks or movements that Red had been so diligent about offering. And it came. Red shifted her hips to make it easier, to let Korra slip into the heat that she so desperately wanted. Just as she was getting ready to push that finger forward, the cab jerked to a stop.

"Here, ladies," the driver announced.

Korra pulled away, heart suddenly beating fast because, even though he didn't glance back at them, how much had the driver seen? As Red reached for the clutch she'd dropped, and Korra helped pull her dress down to cover her up, Korra felt like she should apologize. _Sorry, sir, she just_ does _things to me and I have no idea_ how. The words never left her mouth as they both climbed out of the cab, and her drunkenly short attention span had completely forgotten about it when she took in the size of Red's house. Even then, she didn't get to focus on it for long.

They hurried up the walkway, only getting a few feet from the curb before Red turned and flung her arms around Korra's neck. Korra accepted it eagerly, grabbing Red by the hips to pull their bodies together because at the base of her desires was the need to be close. Through the kiss, Korra could hear the dull clack of Red's heels on the pavement, and she knew how hard it was to even walk in heels going forward and she didn't want Red to get hurt. So Korra curled one arm around her waist, holding tight while dropping the other to the back of her knee, lifting and glad she got the hint and wrapped her legs around Korra's hips.

Her weight was nothing, and her arms didn't leave Korra's neck and her lips kept the rhythm of the kiss. Red's confidence in Korra's grip made her comfortable picking up the pace, and she hurried the remaining distance to the front door, so eager that she pushed Red back against it harder than she'd meant to. Red didn't flinch at it or try to push her away, but when she dropped her legs from Korra's waist and dug into her clutch for her house keys, Korra reached up to cup her face.

She didn't stop kissing, neither of them wanted to, but part of the gentle weight of her hands on Red's face was meant to be apologetic; a comfort for not being able to contain her earnestness. Another part of it was because she wanted to say without words that this wasn't just about sex, and she wanted Red to know it. Know that Korra didn't just go out with the intention of picking up girls to sleep with. Know that this wasn't just so Korra could get laid, but that something about her was different, something about _this_ was different, and Korra didn't know how to say it, so she hoped her touch said it all.

After a few moments, Korra realized that Red was so reluctant to pause from the kiss that she couldn't find the keyhole. Since she could see it from this angle, Korra reached down and set one of her hands on Red's, directing it back and helping to guide the key into the lock. The kiss didn't break once while the door was opened and thrown shut behind them.

Once inside, Red kicked off her heels, and Korra briefly had a moment to shuck out of her own shoes before Red reached for her flannel to start pushing it down her shoulders. It did nothing but bring Korra's earnestness back full force. She let her flannel fall to the floor as she followed toward the stairs, feeling her stomach flutter because she realized this was it. Red pushed her back against the banister after a few steps and finally left the kiss to lift her tank top over her head, and they were shedding clothing and there would be no more interruptions.

Pale hands met Korra's abs, and they were kind of cold but she loved the electric tingling they left in her flesh. She leaned back into the banister to leave herself open, watching those green eyes take her in. She watched Red watch her own hands on Korra's skin. Watched the gaze wander up to her chest. She missed the plush softness of those red lips on hers, but she didn't want to interfere with the way she was being looked at and touched. She wanted more of it, and in order to encourage the removal of more of her own clothing, Korra reached for the zipper at the side of Red's dress.

In response, hands slid around and up her back, unhooking her bra at the same time she finished with the zipper. Red took a step back, and while Korra shrugged out of her bra, she tried not to let her mouth fall open with the way Red took her dress off. She rolled her hips, slipping the thin red fabric down her body inch by tantalizing inch as if she'd practiced it. As if she'd known exactly how to do it to make Korra all the more desperate. And then it was off and she was standing before Korra in nothing but a strapless bra, and _fuck_ , she was _beautiful_. Though Korra managed to keep her mouth closed, she couldn't keep her eyes from tracing every curve she'd been obsessing about all night. Red's slender shoulders, the contour of her breasts, the dip of her waist and the flare of her hips, and her gorgeously long legs. If Korra had wanted to taste every inch of her before, now she was so impatient that her tongue swept across her bottom lip.

As Red took a backward step up the stairs, their gazes locked, and Korra was enchanted. She knew to follow, trusting her feet to match every step Red took because she couldn't look away from those incredible green eyes. Not until they reached the top, and then Korra couldn't stand the distance between them anymore. She set her hands on Red's hips and stepped forward, pressing a tender kiss to her cheek before moving along her jaw and down to her neck.

Though Korra knew this wasn't the kind of encounter that necessarily called for these lulls, she couldn't help it. As much as she wanted Red in the most physical of ways, she couldn't just go there without making it clear that she'd keep being as gentle about it as she had been. Because even if Red hadn't shown the slightest hint of hesitation about sex, it was important to Korra that she knew her comfort was important. She wanted Red to _feel_ that this wasn't the kind of thing Korra did, and that it was special. She wanted Red to feel as special as she did, because never in a million years would she ever think she'd get to kiss and touch someone as beautiful as this.

There was also a part of Korra that thought Red _did_ understand, because she never once tried to rush out of these pauses. Never acted impatient or pushy or anything but heartily accepting of it, and that made Korra feel completely ready to go the rest of the way. So she kissed back to Red's mouth, willing lips parting against hers as arms slipped back around her neck. They stumbled toward the nearest room, but Red didn't bother leading them into it when her back hit the wall beside the door.

Hands reached for the button of Korra's shorts. Her heart skipped at the brushing of fingers between her hips, but just when the button was undone, they wandered upward. They traced her abs and ribs and she silently pleaded for them to keep going. To wander until they reached her chest because that was a place Korra loved to be touched. She wanted it _so_ bad, anticipated it _so_ heavily in those brief moments that when Red's hands finally got there, her lungs tightened with relief. It forced such a stunted breath out of her that it pulled her away from the kiss, and she knew she loved being touched like this, but she didn't expect it to feel _this_ good.

All Red's hands were doing was massaging, but every gentle yet deliberate push against her chest sent a pulse straight down her core, leaving her so breathless that the lack of air was making her weak. Her eyes were heavy with pleasure, and aside from the occasional clench of her fingers, her hands had fallen limp on Red's hips. At least the pulsing through her core let her keep moving her hips, let her keep up with the building friction between their bodies. But then a thumb brushed over her nipple, and the brief contact robbed her of strength so that her head dropped forward against the wall over Red's shoulder.

Her reaction must have been encouraging, because just after it, that hard point received constant attention. It felt so good that it made muscles nowhere near her chest tighten with excitement, and Korra could barely breathe, let alone keep grinding her hips for friction. She wasn't getting enough friction anyway, so her hands fell to Red's backside to grab at bare flesh and bring their bodies closer. It was already sexy enough that she could feel these curves without the dress, but Red's skin was _so soft_. It was the kind of soft skin you'd want to press equally soft kisses to in the morning. The kind of soft skin you'd want to graze your fingertips over because maybe it would tickle, and Red probably had the most _amazing_ laugh.

Korra couldn't take it any longer. She needed more of what she'd felt in the cab. Needed to bring pleasure and earn more of the sounds she'd heard in the bathroom. She moved her lips to Red's ear, struggling for air so she could finally say pleadingly, "I want to taste you."

If she'd thought about it, she might've worried the request was too much, too brazen for a first encounter, but then Red _whimpered_. A desperate, weak sound in her ear and hands landed on her shoulders to push down with acceptance. All night Korra had wanted to touch her lips and tongue to every spot of skin she could find. Now she was so worked up and impatient that she only managed two pecks against Red's stomach on her way down. She reached her knees, grabbing the back of Red's calf and lifting it over her shoulder so she'd have no obstructions to her goal. Before closing that distance completely, she pressed a single kiss to the inside of Red's thigh, as if to say, _I'm going to do it now, okay?_

Acceptance came when Red's hand slid to the back of Korra's head, and though she didn't push, Korra could feel the plea in it. She didn't want to waste another moment. She sank forward to open her lips against the shimmering flesh between Red's legs, her tongue made a long, trying stroke and those glorious hips bucked against her in response. Even more, the hand at the back of her head grasped with need and finally another moan reached her ears.

Korra had every intention of focusing on Red's clit, of finishing this as fast as she could because they'd both waited long enough, but she hadn't anticipated that Red would _actually_ taste _this_ good. Sweet and tangy like her incredible scent, mellow like her voice and the moans Korra loved, but _god_ , at the same time it was impossibly vibrant, just like her brilliant green eyes. Korra couldn't describe it in one simple word, but it stirred the building throb between her legs and she couldn't bring herself to focus beyond Red's taste for long. She had just enough focus to slide a hand upward, and her finger sank easily into the clinging heat that she'd missed out on in the cab.

She was fully prepared to work for it, too. Prepared to let her hand pick up the slack while her tongue indulged above it. In the end, it didn't take nearly as much effort as Korra expected; her tongue made a lazy flick against Red's clit at the same time her finger curved against the sensitive spot inside her. A euphoric shout escaped Red's lips as she felt the heat tighten around her finger, and as much as she loved it, Korra forced herself to forget the taste in order to press her tongue against that pulsing point of nerves. She let Red's rocking hips drive over her tongue, savoring every long, trembling moan that reached her ears and glad she was stable on her feet because a hand fell heavy on her shoulder, and if not for her sense of balance, they both might have hit the floor.

After a few more seconds, the noises ceased, and there was a thump as Red dropped her head back against the wall. Tasting and hearing and feeling Red's climax had made Korra's pulse race with lust. Every beat matched each of Red's panting breaths, and the harmony was almost as addicting as the lingering taste on her lips. She couldn't help it; she let her tongue slip down to further satisfy her desire, earning a welcoming clench around her finger.

The last thing Korra wanted was for this to end. As much as the aching cadence between her own legs was begging for attention, she wasn't satisfied yet that Red was satisfied. She needed to bring Red to climax again, but making it happen and being able to _taste_ the result was _such_ a turn on, and her own ache was on the verge of painful. She needed some relief. Needed to take the edge off because she was half a step away from mindless and desperate.

As her finger made a careful thrust into Red's core and fell into a more deliberate rhythm with her tongue, Korra slipped her free hand into her open shorts. And she was a _mess_. Such a mess that the first stroke of her hand through the acute moisture between her legs robbed her of breath, but then she matched it to each push of her tongue against Red. She set it into motion, and thinking that they were getting the same rhythmic pleasure, that they were on the same united beat just as they'd been all night while Red let out a stifled moan and clutched at Korra's head, it was almost too much for her to handle. She'd only meant to ease some of her tension, but she was right on the edge, and Red's heel was digging into her back as if to plead for more pressure and she _had_ to stop. If she didn't, she'd go too far. She'd finish, and she had no idea how Red would feel about being robbed of the opportunity to do it herself.

Korra ceased the motion of the hand between her legs right as Red pleaded, "Harder." And she was so glad she'd stopped, because the desperation in Red's voice made her pulse with desire.

Already her body was begging for her to resume the motion of her hand, but everything in her head was screaming at her not to. She _needed_ release. Needed it more than she ever had in her life, but if she did it herself she wouldn't be quenched. She needed _Red_ , and the desperate part of her almost regretted continuing her efforts, because as much as she loved Red's panting and moaning, the tightness at her core was almost unbearable.

In order to get what she needed faster, Korra obeyed the plea of harder, and she could _feel_ the response. Feel the edging flutter of muscle around her finger and how each shallow breath rocked through Red's entire body. She could feel how close Red was.

"I'm-" Red began on a jagged breath. "God, I'm-"

But she never finished. Korra hummed her content at Red's incoherency, and almost as if in response, Red's back curved. She pushed away from the wall as another shout left her throat, and Korra might've stumbled backward if it wasn't for both of Red's hands tangling in her hair, clutching and pulling her in as she rocked over Korra's mouth like she had the first time. Korra didn't care about the hands in her hair or almost falling or even breathing. She was too lost in the gasping and trembling whimpers that landed repeatedly on her ears. Too caught up in being buried between the thighs of the most beautiful woman she'd ever met.

And Korra stayed there. Lazily stroking her tongue and drumming her finger until Red stopped quivering and recovered enough to say, "I can't stand much longer."

Korra huffed amusedly, taking her hand out of her shorts and gently pulling out of Red so she could stand. Even though her own need was still relentless, she didn't know how to make it known without feeling pushy. So she wiped the back of her hand over her lips and chin and lowered her mouth to Red's neck, where she could satisfy herself with kissing and nipping for as long as it took, though she hoped Red wouldn't take too long to offer what she needed.

It was a relief when Red seemed almost as impatient. She grabbed Korra's hand and stepped away, through the door beside them to lead the way into a bedroom. Korra followed, eyes enduringly locked on Red's enchanting figure. That is, until Red lifted the hand she was holding, the hand that Korra had been touching herself with, and put the exact finger into her mouth. Red's tongue licked over the tip of it, and her mouth was _so hot_ and her tongue was wet and Korra could feel the texture of it against her sensitive skin. Korra's eyes lidded as her stomach tightened so hard with lust that it forced a loud breath out of her, and she didn't care where or how, but she needed that tongue and those bright red lips on her _now_.

They reached the bed, and when Red turned them around and gave Korra a soft push, she fell backward onto it. She lifted her hips to let Red pull her shorts and underwear off at the same time, and then scooted backward until they were comfortable at the center of the mattress. The anticipation was already killing her, but then Red kissed low on her stomach, and through the sharp intake of air, Korra didn't know whether to feel relieved or teased.

Because Red didn't stop with just one kiss. Her full lips opened against Korra's stomach, pressing such wet, hot kisses to her flesh that it burned. The heat flared in her abdomen and seeped through her core, up to the desperate flush in her face and down to the throbbing want at her center. Korra loved the sensual softness of the pecks and the stirring shock of the occasional nip, but they'd been at this for a while now. She didn't need to get worked up – she was _beyond_ worked up. So far beyond it that the ache was back worse than it had been, and the emptiness and the absence of touch where she needed it most had reached painful.

Especially since Korra could feel Red's hand sliding in the opposite direction her lips were going, and she almost couldn't take it anymore. She set one hand on Red's hip and the other on the back of her shoulder, both for stability, because she was so desperate that she might start rocking against Red's hips for any kind of friction she could get. So desperate that her eyes might start watering with frenzied tears. Red seemed to be able to sense her intense need, because she finally dropped her hand between Korra's legs while her lips kissed up to a breast, but she didn't give anything close to what Korra needed.

Korra nearly groaned her agony at the noncommittal passes of that evil finger over the outskirts of her core, but then Red's tongue swept over her nipple, and it was hardly enough but Korra's need was so great that it was a sensation shock. She drew in a staggered breath as her hand tightened on Red's hip with surprise. Her other hand dropped to Red's elbow, and though she was prepared for the next pass of that tongue over her flesh, it didn't stop a pleased hum from escaping her throat.

Only, it still wasn't enough. She ached so bad that every run of Red's finger through her soaked core was searing. She needed relief _so goddamn bad_. Her hips pumped pleadingly, and the hand at Red's elbow nudged downward, begging it to add pressure and give her what she was about ready to beg for. At the nudge, Red's hand dropped, the very tip of her finger slid into Korra and _yes, yes, god yes please keep going_.

But it slid back up through Korra's outer folds, and her chest tightened so powerfully with pained need that she couldn't keep the words in. "You're _such_ a _tease_ ," Korra complained through a sobbing mixture of frustrated laugh and whine.

Red pressed a final peck to the middle of Korra's chest before looking up at her with a smirk. "Just seeing if I could get you to talk," she said amusedly, and the tip of her finger teased Korra's entrance again.

" _Yes_ ," Korra panted involuntarily, urging the finger to keep going. That's all Red wanted? This whole time and all the torture and agony and all Korra had to do was talk. She almost cried at the simplicity of it. "God, I talk," she nearly whimpered, pushing her hips down to try and get more of that finger inside her. "I talk so much, I never shut up, I promise." Red pushed in a little farther, earning an eager groan. "Whatever you want," Korra breathed desperately. Fuck, she was about to break. " _Please_ , just _fuck me_."

That was it. Red pushed all the way into her, and Korra moaned with relief as her body responded with a hard clench. She could feel her muscles tightening around Red's finger, so grateful for the fullness that they tried to pull it deeper. And she was so glad that Red was done teasing, because she lowered herself down Korra's body and didn't wait a moment to set her tongue into motion. Korra didn't even try to stop the loud groan that left her lips. If Red wanted her to be vocal, she could, and she would; she'd do whatever it took to keep that tongue and finger moving.

Korra had been so desperate for touch that she thought the second it happened she'd be finished. But she'd been too on edge for too long, and it didn't happen right away. She was _so_ sensitive to even the slightest shift, and though she was struggling to hold still because of how insanely amazing it felt, she couldn't climax until it dulled. It was too much.

It was like Red could read her. Or she just _really_ knew what she was doing, because she reached up with her free hand to massage Korra's breast, and it offered something else to focus on. Korra grabbed Red's hand with her own, encouraging every graze and flick as she panted for air, because this was exactly what she needed. Focusing on the feeling against her chest eased the overwhelming sensations between her legs, and now that she could feel pleasure instead of the incessant ache, she could also feel that she was nearing the end.

No, not nearing it. She was _there_. Korra took in a massive breath, fueling the peaking pressure between her hips as she arched away from the bed. And she was done. She couldn't have stayed quiet if she wanted to, and she moaned loudly as she hit the most powerful climax she'd ever experienced. She was clenching and throbbing and she couldn't keep her hips from slamming down in time with every pulse, seeking pressure as her hand squeezed Red's to her chest, silently begging Red not to pull away until it was done. And god, she didn't. She kept contact through the entirety of Korra's release, working her tongue and finger until Korra was a weak, trembling mess.

'Thank you,' Korra mouthed silently, eyes shut and letting her arms fall out to either side of her because there were no words for how badly she needed that, and there were definitely no words for how extraordinarily amazing it was. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.'

She felt Red shift and sit over her hips. She was too exhausted to open her eyes just yet, but after a moment, soft lips pressed against hers. Red was _kissing her_ , and the fact that she didn't just want to let that be the end, that she actually wanted to keep kissing and being close, it made Korra's heart flutter. It also made her stomach flip with an itch of desire, because now that she got what she needed, she could get Red to make more of those sounds that she couldn't get enough of.

Korra slid her hand up the inside of Red's thigh, drawing a questioning stroke through her center to make sure Red wanted this, and when she didn't protest, Korra slid one finger into her. Red straightened to sit up, and the position sat her deeper over Korra's hand and Korra couldn't resist grinding her hips upward to give more. And Red _moved with her_ , rocking forward every time Korra thrust her hips like she was completely ready to do this again. Korra was _definitely_ ready to do this again, at least _once_ more because she had no idea what would happen afterward. No idea what Red expected of her or if they'd ever get the chance to do this again. So Korra carefully slipped a second finger into Red's core, and because she wasn't at the most comfortable angle to touch Red herself, she reached for one of Red's hands, guiding it inward with the request that she do what Korra couldn't.

"God, you're," Red breathed, hand picking up eager circles. "You're _so hot_."

Korra's mouth curled into a wide grin, so unbelievably flattered because Red called _her_ hot. _Red_ , who was sexy and gorgeous even from this angle, and who was grinding down on Korra's fingers with her eyes getting increasingly lidded like she was about to come again.

Another moment and she was definitely coming again. She curled over Korra as her eyes slammed shut, and getting to _actually_ watch her this time was… it was something else. But as stirring and exciting as it was, Korra couldn't help the twinge in her chest, because she didn't want this to be a one time thing and she didn't want to go home just yet. When Red was done, Korra removed her hand, and no sooner than she had, Red collapsed forward on top of her. Red didn't move, and her face was buried in Korra's neck and it was so affectionate that Korra could feel her heart hammering in her ears. She was nervous. She'd just had _sex_ with this girl, had just made her come _three_ times, but she felt more sober now than she had all night and she was nervous. Like, legitimately schoolgirl nervous.

Red laughed into Korra's neck, inching up enough to meet her gaze. "I owe you a couple of orgasms," she said, falling back down with a tired sigh. "Just give me a few minutes."

"It's okay," Korra chuckled, noting how Red _did_ have an amazing laugh, and pressing a soft kiss to her shoulder because she didn't know how long she'd be able to. "Don't worry about it." She placed more tender pecks along Red's shoulder, each one a silent question or comfort or plea. _Did you like that? Did you like me? You're beautiful. I really want to cuddle with you. Please don't make me leave._ Korra was so caught up in the affection that she didn't realize Red was watching her. When she did notice, she stopped. "Sorry."

"No, it's-" Red began to protest, and her lips thinned with a small smile. "I like it." God, Korra's heart skipped, and she planted another delicate peck just because she could. Because Red wasn't just apathetic about how affectionate Korra was, she actually _liked_ it. "I'd get off of you," Red laughed guiltily, "But I can't move just yet."

"Take your time," Korra replied, setting her hands on Red's waist. What she really meant was _you smell good, and you feel good, and I don't want you to get off_.

And Red stayed. Stayed until she fell asleep on Korra, and it wasn't long until Korra drifted off too. She woke in the middle of the night. Red had rolled off of her, and it was cold without the heat of contact so she inched the blanket out from under them, and pulled it up so they were covered. It was too late at that point for her to go home, and once the blanket was over them, Red scooted in closer to her and draped an arm over her waist, and Korra didn't _want_ to go home. She fell asleep getting the cuddling that she wanted.

The next time she woke, it was morning. Her eyes cracked open, and Red's arm was still over her waist and her own arm was under Red's head, and _holy shit_ she was even _more_ beautiful now that Korra was completely sober. It didn't matter that her hair was all messed up and her eye make up was a little bit smeared, because instead of making Red flawlessly gorgeous, it made her endearingly gorgeous. Was it possible to have such an instantly massive crush on someone you'd only just met? On someone you knew nothing about?

At the back of Korra's mind, she thought maybe she shouldn't just lie here staring, but she couldn't move without waking Red up… and she didn't want to move anyway. She was in for a world of awkward torture when Red woke, she was well aware of that. She wouldn't know what to say or how to act, but not even the dread of embarrassing herself could make her want to leave. She wanted to hear Red's voice at least once more. If they were never going to see each other again, then she couldn't just leave without saying goodbye.

It took a while, but eventually Red woke up, and her bright green eyes met Korra's and of all the things Korra thought she'd say, she didn't expect a teasing, "Been staring long?"

Korra's face flushed, and she winced because she was mildly aware staring could be uncomfortable and the embarrassment had started sooner than she'd hoped. "Sorry," she said. "I've never really done this before, and I wasn't sure if I was just supposed to leave without saying anything." Korra paused, trying to think of what else she could say because she was definitely feeling those nerves she'd predicted. Not to mention Red's beautiful green eyes were leaving her slightly brain dead. "And then I realized that you're kind of even prettier when I'm sober, and I couldn't stop looking at you." _Shit._ Korra nearly sighed, and her eyes closed with another wince. _Nice going, idiot._ "Crap," Korra explained hastily, "that sounded creepy… I wasn't going to _do_ anything… it's just… my arm's stuck under your head and I didn't want to wake you up."

For a long moment, Red just looked at her, and despite the smile on her face, Korra had a sinking feeling in her stomach because she was totally messing this up. "Can I ask you something?" Red asked, and Korra gave an anxious nod. "Can I kiss you?"

"What?" Korra blurted in shock. She'd been caught staring when one night stand convention dictated that she probably should've bolted already, and Red wanted to kiss her again? Through the shock and the excited fluttering in her chest, Korra thought _oh my god, no. What are you doing, say yes. Yes!_ Only, she was nervous and flustered, and that yes came out an equally flustered, "I mean yeah, okay, if you want to."

Despite Korra's awkwardness, Red leaned in all confidence and grace, and the closer she got, the more intense the fluttering in Korra's chest. But then their lips touched, and Korra melted into the kiss. It was soft and comfortable and all she could think was _please let us see each other again_. It only lasted a few moments, and Red only pulled away enough so that their lips were still brushing, but then Korra realized that their bare bodies were hardly inches apart. She nearly stiffened with tension, because she'd been _all_ over that body last night and Red's arm was still draped over her naked waist and _oh my god_ it just sank in that _they were still in bed together._

"…you're still naked…" Korra whispered against Red's lips.

Red made an amused huff as she said, "You're more naked than I am."

"That," Korra began, leaning back and pulling the blanket up so she could look down at her body. She was definitely completely naked, while Red still had her strapless bra on. "Is very true."

While it was stirring that they were both still naked and in bed together, it helped ease some of Korra's nerves. They were on even ground… mostly… and Red didn't seem so eager to kick Korra out and she was nice and pretty and she'd definitely been as into the sex last night as Korra had, right? _No reason to be nervous_ , Korra thought, _just don't think about how drop dead gorgeous she is_.

"Can I ask you something else?" Red asked through a laugh, and Korra hummed the affirmative. "What's your name?"

Korra chuckled, feeling her cheeks tint as she wondered what Red had been calling her all night. "Korra," she answered. "You?"

"Asami," Red replied, and how was it possible that even her name was beautiful? "Korra," she said, and Korra felt a grin tug at her lips because she liked the way Asami said her name. Liked the way her lips wrapped around the 'o' and then settled into a content smile after the 'a'. "Korra," she said again slowly, and Korra couldn't help but laugh. "Do you want to, I don't know, go get breakfast with me?"

Now that grin really did reach Korra's face, and even though her stomach flipped and fluttered with the overwhelming mixture of joy and renewed nerves, she answered instantly, "Yeah."


	3. Breakfast

_***_ _Well lookie here, 11k words of fluffiness (with a bit of smut cuz you guys asked for it ;)). Just know ahead of time that it's a... different kind of smut. I was going for romance, so you could call it softcore whereas the previous two chps have been more hardcore haha, so I'm not expecting nosebleeds, sorry._

 _I'll do more chapters for this too, they'll have a sorta dinner date chp next, which I'll call Dinner since I seem to be on a naming scheme that goes with opposites and this chapter's called Breakfast... I know, I'm so clever *rolls eyes*. I've been considering a micro plot with this story where they start dating and decide to try and not have sex for like 10 dates, in which I gotta come up with creative ways to write smut so they're 'technically' not having sex lol. I've got a couple ideas so... look forward it :D_

… _._

Korra swallowed down the bite of waffle, finally allowing her eyes to settle on Asami for longer than a moment. She was in the same clothes she'd worn at the club last night, but before leaving, Asami had put on jeans and a t-shirt – not that the casual clothing made her any less attractive. The restaurant was right down the street from her house, so they'd walked… which had unfortunately given Korra time to grow nervous all over again. For the whole start of breakfast, she hadn't known what to say, but Asami's playfulness had finally put her at ease. Which was good, because this was her chance to make sure they'd see each other again.

"That's really good too," Korra said, nodding toward Asami's waffle, and attempting to maintain conversation, asked, "Have you been here before?"

Asami sucked a breath through her teeth and said, "I come here more than I care to admit." Korra hummed curiously, taking her first sip of coffee since she'd previously been too busy shoving pancakes into her mouth. "I'm not much of a chef," Asami explained, reaching across the table again to grab another bite of Korra's pancakes, and Korra pushed the plate forward to make it easier for her. "I'm actually really glad you didn't get a look into my refrigerator. It's shameful."

"Yeah?" Korra laughed. "So I wouldn't have been able to cook for you even if I wanted to."

Asami set an elbow on the table, propping her chin in her hand and leaning forward so she could coo teasingly, "Aw, you would've cooked for me?"

"Maybe," Korra chuckled. She probably would've wanted to offer if Asami hadn't brought up going out for breakfast. "Seems like the least I could've done."

"I think you did more than enough last night," Asami said, the hint of a smile on her lips.

Korra felt all the blood rush to her cheeks, but despite the fact that she knew she was blushing deeply, she wasn't going to let it make her shy. At least not outwardly. So she held Asami's gaze, feigning confidence and staring straight into those bright green eyes because Asami was clearly holding back laughter while waiting for her to grow bashful. Only, when Asami realized Korra was being stubborn about it, she stared right back, so they were in unblinking eye contact for almost a minute as each of their lips curled, waiting to see who would break first.

Eventually, Korra snorted with laughter, breaking eye contact as her cheeks flared with another blush because she seriously just had a staring contest with Asami. She was a grown adult and she was flirting with her new schoolgirl crush with some super mature staring. "I live to serve," she finally said, pushing her plate of pancakes away because she was beyond full, and motioning to them to offer Asami some more.

"No, thanks," Asami said, still grinning her own amusement as she pushed her plate away too. "What do you do for a living, anyway?"

"I play soccer," Korra answered.

Asami's eyebrows furrowed with surprise. "Professionally?" Korra nodded, and Asami hummed in revelation. "That explains it."

"What?"

"Your physique," Asami said, eyes falling over the front of Korra's body and successfully bringing another slight tint to her cheeks. Before Korra could say anything, Asami nodded in her direction. "It also explains why that little girl keeps turning around to stare like she knows you."

Korra glanced over her shoulder, and the girl wasn't facing her right now, but she was wearing a familiar jersey with fifty-seven on the back. "Oh yeah," Korra said, smiling happily. "She's wearing my number."

The little girl turned around again to catch another glimpse like Asami said she'd been doing, and Korra couldn't resist giving a small wave. The girl's eyes widened with amazement, and she immediately turned to tug at her mom's sleeve.

"I think you just made her day," Asami laughed.

Korra faced forward in her seat to return her focus to Asami. "I live to serve," she said again. Asami didn't get a chance to respond before there was a tug at Korra's sleeve. She glanced sideways, meeting the ecstatic face of that little girl. "Hi," Korra greeted with a friendly smile.

The girl's cheeks were bulging with a grin as she glanced up at her mom, who nodded at her encouragingly. "Will you sign my jersey?" the girl asked, extending a marker to Korra.

"I'd love to," Korra answered, taking the item. "What's your name?"

"Miyuki," the girl said, taking in a deep breath so she could add excitedly, "You're my favorite player!"

"Thank you," Korra said enthusiastically, hearing Asami giggle because this little girl was adorable. She motioned for the girl to turn around so she could sign the back of the shirt, and then returned the marker. "Do you want a hug too?" The little girl nodded and practically threw herself into the booth to give Korra a hug, and then climbed down to skip away with her mom and autographed jersey.

"That was really cute," Asami said amusedly, finishing stacking their almost empty plates so the waitress could grab them when she came by.

"Yeah," Korra agreed, and added jokingly, "I won't tell you that I paid her twenty bucks to make me look famous."

"So you're not a star athlete," Asami mused playfully, "Bummer."

"Hey," Korra said with mock offense, "I'm professionally mediocre." Truthfully, she was one of the best, but talking about it was starting to make her shy.

Asami laughed, rolling her eyes because she clearly predicted Korra was just being modest. "Let's see how mediocre you are," she mused, pulling out her phone. Korra didn't know at first what Asami meant, but then she realized there were videos of her games on the internet. "Best of Korra," Asami read after she'd typed in a search, and even from across the table, Korra could see that she'd clicked on the link. Korra also knew the exact video Asami was watching. At least it was one that showcased her talents, but… it was only a moment before Asami snorted with laughter. "They call you the Dribble Dragon?"

Korra laughed, holding back an eye roll as she mumbled, "Unfortunately."

Asami's amusement, however, had faded. "But I can see why," she said in wonder, inching her phone closer to her face with interest. "Is that footwork even real? How do you do that?" All Korra could do was give a timid and humble shrug. "Wow," she murmured, putting the phone back into her pocket. "I can see why you're that girl's favorite player." Then she tilted her head to look past Korra at the little girl that had come over. "Her mom was squinting at me, though…"

"Oh… yeah," Korra started guiltily, "That's my fault. Sorry." When all Asami did was raise a confused eyebrow, Korra reached across the table to gently run her thumb over a spot on Asami's neck. "I left kind of a dark bruise here…" Only, that was the first time she'd made contact with Asami since they'd got out of bed, and the touch was tender and they locked eyes, and Korra felt her cheeks start to burn. "Sorry," she said again, pulling her arm back to her side of the table.

Asami smirked, asking amusedly, "Did you just apologize for touching me?" Korra gave a timid nod, to which Asami said, "You did a lot more than that last night."

Korra shrugged, answering seriously, "Just because you let me do it once doesn't mean I can do it whenever I want." They did still barely know each other. There was no response for a long span of seconds as Asami just stared at her, and eventually, she asked, "What?"

"You're just _really_ nice," Asami said, and then added teasingly, "Up front you seem like the total package. So what's wrong with you?"

"You probably didn't notice last night," Korra answered playfully, "But I drool in my sleep. Like a waterfall." Asami laughed, and Korra couldn't help but chuckle, "Seriously. You think I'm joking, but you might want to wash those pillow cases."

"I'll keep that in mind," Asami replied, still laughing to herself. After a few seconds, her laughter tapered off, and she met Korra's gaze. "You could, um," she began, glancing away timidly. It was the shiest Korra had seen her yet. "You could touch me, if you wanted to…" And she added almost as an afterthought, "Just so you know."

"Yeah?" Korra asked, an involuntary smile tugging her lips. And she didn't know what else to say, so she said, "Thanks," and immediately set to blushing again because _who freaking says that_ instead of taking the _perfect_ opportunity to _flirt_?

Asami huffed with laughter, repeating 'thanks' under her breath like she wanted to tease Korra for it but couldn't bring herself to. Instead of making Korra blush even worse, she said fondly, "Your parents raised you right, fifty-seven."

Korra's phone started buzzing in her pocket, so as she glanced down to see who it was, she said sarcastically, "What? And yours didn't?" It was Mako calling her, so she hit decline and glanced up, catching the remaining hint of a wince on Asami's face.

"That's," Asami began, doing her best to offer a small smile because Korra's eyes had widened in panic, "probably a story for another time."

"I'm sorry," Korra apologized, feeling the bad kind of blush darken her cheeks. "I didn't mean to bring it up if that's a sensitive, um…"

While she searched for the right word, Asami shook her head reassuringly. "It's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," Korra said unsurely, offering once more, "…I'm sorry." Asami smiled in response, and to change the subject Korra asked, "What do _you_ do for a living?"

"I'm a mechanical engineer," Asami answered.

Korra's eyebrows ascended with confusion. "So you…" she prompted curiously.

Asami chuckled, explaining, "I design and build things, like cars, planes, factory equipment. You know, mechanical things."

"Oh," Korra drawled understandingly. "So you work for a big company like Future Industries or something." This time Asami struggled to contain the smile on her face, which made Korra think she'd said something embarrassing. "What?" she asked. "Is that not the right kind of company?"

"No, it is," Asami assured her, adding amusedly, "It's just that of all the companies you could've said, you said Future Industries." Whatever that was supposed to mean was lost on Korra, and her face must've shown it, because Asami said, "I own it."

Korra's phone started buzzing again, but she was so shocked by what she'd just heard that she didn't even check it. "Future Industries?" she asked, eyes wide with disbelief. Asami nodded. "You _own_ Future Industries?" Another nod. "…Wow."

Asami shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Right," Korra laughed sarcastically. "It's only one of the most successful companies in the country…"

"But it's a family business," Asami pointed out. "Not like I necessarily had to work for the job."

"Maybe not, but you did," Korra said sincerely, and Asami's eyebrows rose with surprise. "You don't strike me as someone who hasn't worked for what you have, family business or not."

Asami's eyes scanned Korra's face, and she leaned forward with interest. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, for one, you're an engineer," Korra said amusedly. "You build big, complicated things. I couldn't even point to a carburetor in a car. I don't even know what a carburetor _is_." Asami laughed, but nodded for Korra to continue. "You put my clothes on the bed while I was in the bathroom this morning so they'd be easier for me to grab, probably because you're under the impression I did a lot of work last night. You made us cross the street early on the way here so the gardener wouldn't have to stop mowing the lawn while we passed. Both times you've wanted a refill on your drink, you put your cup at the edge of the table so the waitress doesn't have to lean over you, and you've already stacked our plates. You respect hard work like you know what it is."

Instead of addressing the core of what Korra had said, Asami mused, "You _did_ do a lot of work last night."

"You keep saying that like I did you some kind of a favor," Korra chuckled, and at the coy eyebrow raise from Asami, she laughed, "yeah, sexual favor, ha ha." Asami snickered, but Korra added seriously, "honestly, being with you is easy. It's not work at all."

Asami's laughter faded, but as her eyes wandered over Korra's expression, the hint of a smile remained on her lips. "Thanks," she said eventually. "It's nice to have all that appreciated."

"Yeah, well," Korra said, trying not to blush, "I like a girl that knows how to get her hands dirty."

Asami laughed, "And I like when you get brave enough to flirt with me."

"No," Korra groaned teasingly, "Don't call me out on it! I'll get shy again."

"Okay, okay," Asami said with playful haste, "I'll set you up for another one and won't say anything about it." She thought for a moment, and then said, "You're really hot." Korra's eyes widened, and it wasn't necessarily the compliment so much as the image that flashed through her mind. "What?" Asami asked, noting the look. "That was an easy one."

"No, it's just…" Korra faltered, gesturing awkwardly with her hands. "You said that last night… right before you… you know."

"Oh, right," Asami said, a smirk tilting one corner of her lips. "Except I'm pretty sure last night my exact words were 'god, you're,'" she paused, taking in a breath so she could sigh quietly, "'you're so hot'."

"Oh my god," Korra mumbled, cheeks tinting darkly as she folded her arms on the table and buried her face for the second time that morning. "I hate you."

Asami started laughing so hard at Korra's reaction that it took her a few moments to prompt, "Korra." Korra shook her head, because she was blushing too much, which made it even more embarrassing. "Korra," Asami snickered, "How red is your face right now?"

Korra reluctantly picked up her head to let Asami catch a short glimpse of how bad she was blushing. What she didn't realize until looking up, however, was that Asami had pulled out her phone, and she snapped a picture the second Korra glanced up. Korra gasped, making a reach for the phone, but Asami pulled it back too quickly.

Asami checked the picture, started cracking up all over again, and turned the phone so Korra could look at it across the table. "Could you be any cuter?" she asked, still laughing. Korra wasn't blushing nearly so bad anymore, but in the picture her cheeks were bright red.

"You're _so_ busted," Korra muttered, and she got out of her seat and swiveled to Asami's side, successfully trapping her in the booth. "Give me it," she chuckled, reaching for Asami's phone. Asami stretched her arm away as far as she could, but she had nowhere to go, and she was still laughing so hard at Korra's sudden onslaught that Korra didn't have a difficult time wrestling the device out of her hand. "Got it!" she declared triumphantly, opening the camera. But it wasn't her intention to delete the picture. She switched it over to front view and pointed the camera at them, and then leaned in to Asami's ear and whispered for payback, "I want to taste you."

She pushed the capture button right away, and caught the very moment her words from last night registered on Asami's face. Those green eyes went wide, and Asami's cheeks turned rosy and Korra was sitting next to her with a huge grin on her face. Korra burst into laughter as she kept snapping pictures to get the entirety of the reaction. Asami was so stunned that Korra took at least ten pictures before she had her laughter under control, and then she opened the photos to look at them.

"Look at that face," Korra chuckled, swiping to the next one to show Asami. "It looks like you couldn't handle a taste of your own medicine." She flicked over to the next picture. "Look at your eyes in this o-"

"Korra," Asami interrupted seriously, and at the tone of her voice, Korra turned her head, worried that she'd taken it too far. She'd barely glanced over when Asami's parted lips met hers. It wasn't a long kiss, but god was it open. Open enough for Asami's searing tongue to graze hers for one brief, teasing moment before she pulled away completely. Korra's mouth was still hanging when green eyes met hers, and Asami grinned at her smugly. "You're blushing again."

"I-" Korra stuttered. "You just- that was-" She glanced down at the phone in her hand, and then dropped her head back weakly against the seat. "You're _such_ a _tease_."

"You want to know what amazes me?" Asami asked nonchalantly, and Korra couldn't pick up her head because she was still weak, so she grunted her curiosity. Before answering, Asami leaned over and pressed chaste peck to her cheek. "How the girl I was with last night is the same adorable mess I'm looking at right now."

This felt like another chance to flirt, and despite how flustered Korra still was, she wasn't going to miss it. "You want the truth?" she asked, picking her head up and repeatedly telling herself not to blush. Asami nodded. "This is going to sound cheesy, okay, but I swear I'm being honest."

"Okay," Asami agreed amusedly.

"You're literally the most beautiful human being I've ever met in my entire life," Korra said, to which Asami chuckled. "And you're nice and funny and smart." She couldn't help but copy playfully, "Up front you seem like the total package. So what's wrong with you?"

Asami hummed guiltily. "I have the awful habit of taking girls home from the club."

"Yeah," Korra snorted with laughter, "that's an absolute lie."

"What?" Asami asked in disbelief, smiling gratefully at the waitress who dropped off the check. "How do you know?"

Korra reached into her back pocket for her cash, but Asami stopped her and pulled out her own. "Because," Korra answered, scooting out of the booth so they could leave. "You kissed me on the dance floor last night and then had this look on your face like you couldn't believe you just did that."

"Alright," Asami admitted in defeat, following Korra out the entrance of the diner. "You got me. But could _you_ believe you just did that?"

"Not when I think about it now," Korra laughed. "But last night I probably would've sold my soul to get you alone."

Before Asami could reply, Korra's phone started buzzing in her pocket again, and she pulled it out to hit decline, because she was having too much fun with Asami and didn't want to waste a minute of it talking to Mako.

"That's not…" Asami started awkwardly as Korra put the phone back in her pocket. "That's not a significant other or something that keeps calling you, right? That's not your flaw?"

"What?" Korra asked in shock, and for the first time that morning, she didn't blush. Her face paled. If Mako screwed things up with Asami because he kept calling her, she was going to kill him. "No," Korra said earnestly. "No, I promise, I'm completely single."

"Oh," Asami said, and though she looked like she believed it, she also looked like she felt awkward for saying it. "Okay."

"It's one of my friends I was at the club with last night," Korra explained, and in an attempt to recover from the sudden tension, added playfully, "He probably just wants details about the gorgeous girl I went home with." She _had_ dated Mako at one point… but now really didn't feel like the time to bring that up…

To Korra's relief, Asami smiled, though she pursed that smile apologetically and said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you." Korra simply shrugged, seeing as she hadn't been offended. "It's just kind of hard to believe someone like you is single."

"I have a perfectly good explanation for that," Korra chuckled.

"Besides the drooling?" Asami asked teasingly.

"Yeah," Korra laughed. "I'm always practicing and I travel a lot for games. It's hard to find someone who can deal with my schedule. Especially when a relationship is new, the distance is hard." She shrugged once more, asking with feigned suspicion, "Why are _you_ single?"

Asami sighed, stopping at the crosswalk to wait till they could cross the street. "I've been accused of being a workaholic."

"So you understand my problem," Korra said amusedly.

"Definitely," Asami agreed. "But it's not so much that I'm _always_ at the office. It's just… I love my job, and when I get excited about new projects, I have the tendency to hyper-focus and tune everything else out. I've had a hard time finding someone who's okay with occasionally not being the center of my universe." The light turned, and as they started across the road, Asami glanced over at her and asked self-consciously, "Does that sound selfish?"

"Not at all," Korra assured her. As they walked, Korra couldn't help but notice that they were close, and their shoulders brushed with every other step and she _really_ wanted to hold Asami's hand. Things were going well, right? They were having good conversation and they'd been flirting and Asami even said Korra could touch her. And she _did_ kiss Korra in the booth. They could hold hands, couldn't they?

"I totally get it," Korra continued as she tried to work up the courage to reach for Asami's hand. But she was nervous again, because holding hands wasn't the same kind of thing as sex or as that flirtatious kiss in the booth. It was more romantic, and there were implications – implications that Korra wanted, but wasn't sure if Asami felt the same way. They _were_ talking about the reasons they were single… maybe Asami didn't even want to get involved in anything serious. "Whenever there's a new skill or move that I want to perfect for soccer, I'll literally spend as long as it takes to learn. And I get really into it too, like sometimes I'll be on the field and so focused that I forget to eat and then, before I know it, it's dark."

"Yeah," Asami said with a happy smile. "You get me."

 _Just do it_ , Korra told herself. They were only a block away from Asami's house now, and her time was running out. _Do it_. With the next brush of their shoulders, Korra reached for Asami's hand, only, she chickened out at the last second and ended up just hooking her index finger through Asami's pinky. It was _such_ a fucking cop out, and she nearly groaned because she caught the smile at the edge of Asami's lips like she knew Korra was nervous about it and was amused.

But then Asami slid her _entire_ hand into Korra's, slipping their fingers together in such a smooth, confident motion that Korra's heart skipped. It wasn't just the hand holding either. Once she had Korra's hand, she scooted into Korra's side and set her free hand on Korra's forearm. They were _so_ close, completely flush together at the hip, and Asami was practically hugging Korra's entire arm and it felt like a kind of cuddling. Korra's stomach was in a flurry, and she couldn't have stopped the grin on her face even if she tried.

Thankfully, Asami didn't give her a chance to get flustered, and asked, "So who were your friends that you were with last night?"

"There's Mako," Korra answered, "The one who keeps calling me. His brother, Bolin, and Bolin's girlfriend, Opal. They were some of the first friends I made when I moved here a few years ago. What about you?"

Asami shrugged against her. "Just some old college friends I hadn't seen in a long time. I almost didn't go, but, you know, getting called a workaholic is kind of a pet peeve."

"Had to prove them wrong," Korra chuckled, and then said honestly, "I'm glad you went."

"Me too," Asami agreed, giving Korra's arm a fond squeeze.

As they neared Asami's house, Korra was beginning to wonder if this was the kind of situation where she'd kiss Asami goodbye. Before she could really decide, she noticed someone sitting on the curb at the end of the walkway. "Is that guy waiting for you?" Korra asked.

Asami saw him, then sighed, "Oh, crap," and instantly let go of Korra's hand.

The man seemed to spot them just as they'd seen him, and it definitely looked like he noticed the handholding. "Miss Sato!" he called, pacing to meet them as they reached the walkway to Asami's door. Korra realized why Asami had let go of her hand the moment the man got close. She'd dealt with people like him plenty of times… he was a reporter… And he glanced at Korra out of what seemed like simple curiosity, but then his eyes widened. "Hey," he said in amazement. "You're Korra! You play for the Fire Ferrets!" Then he looked back at Asami, and if Korra was ever going to regret the hickey she'd put on Asami's neck, it was now that the reporter noticed it. "I was going to ask you about Future Industries," the man said to Asami. "But this is far more interesting! How long have you two been seeing each other?"

"How about no," Asami mumbled, retaking Korra's hand to drag her up the walkway. The man made to follow them, but as they reached the door, she turned to scowl at him in warning, "Private property, you know the rules."

"Oh, come on," he whined in disappointment, but respectfully retreated back to the end of the path.

Asami opened her door, turning to face Korra and leaning against the side of the entrance. "I'm really sorry about that," she said, nodding past Korra at the reporter. "If you don't want people talking or spreading rumors, I can call my publicist and have her deal with it."

Korra glanced behind her, but all she could do was laugh when she saw that the reporter was taking notes even though he was too far away to hear them. "Rumors are harmless," she said, growing somewhat timid. "Besides, I kind of _do_ want to see you again…"

"Well," Asami drawled casually, "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing really," Korra answered. "Maybe take my dog to the park. You?"

"After last night," Asami said in amusement, "I'm going to start with a shower."

"A shower sounds amazing," Korra laughed in agreement. In response to it, Asami cocked an eyebrow and her lips curled in a smirk. "Um…" Korra mumbled, because that expression looked flirtatious and suggestive and was Asami thinking what Korra thought she was? "Do you… is that… what's that look mean?"

Asami took a step backwards into her house, leaving the door wide open as she backed to the stairs. "I'll let you decide what it means," she said coyly.

Korra was so stunned by the vague smugness that she just stood there until Asami had completely disappeared up the stairs and into her bedroom. A shower. That was the offer here, right? A _together_ shower. But that didn't necessarily mean they'd have sex again. Or did it? Korra glanced back at the reporter, who was staring at her and looked almost as confused as she felt at Asami's disappearance. The last thing she wanted to do was pass by and get questioned by him, and there was no way she'd deny that a shower with Asami, sex or not, did sound nice…

Korra stepped into the house and shut the door behind her. She could already hear the distant sound of running water from upstairs, but before she could reach the steps, her phone started ringing again. Instead of answering with 'hello,' Korra put the receiver to her ear. "Oh my god, _what do you want_?"

"Oh good," Mako said sarcastically. "You didn't get murdered and I don't need to call to cops."

In the background, Korra heard Bolin say, "But Mako, you are the cops."

"I'm fine, thanks," Korra said hastily. "I got to go."

"Wait!" Bolin yelled, and suddenly his voice was closer like he'd snatched the phone from Mako. "What happened last night? Tell me!"

 _Well, for starters,_ Korra thought _, I think I'm love_. "Later," she practically groaned with impatience. "I'm busy."

Then Mako's voice was close again. "Korra," he said in shock and accusation, " _are you still with her_?" And she heard Bolin gasp.

"Yes," she answered rapidly. "Got to go. Bye."

Korra hung up, and tossed her phone onto a decorative end table by the stairs so she wouldn't even hear it if it rang again. She set one foot on the stairs to start heading up, but then froze. It had been at least two minutes now… long enough for the nerves and doubt to start seeping in again. Maybe Asami didn't want Korra to actually shower _with_ her, but just to hang around so they could spend more time together when she was done. Or maybe Asami _was_ comfortable showering together, but didn't want to have sex again and if Korra got too bold then she'd completely mess this up. But Asami said they could touch, and the kiss in the booth, and they held hands and _god, Korra, you're totally overthinking it._

Telling herself to stop thinking so much, Korra trudged up the stairs to Asami's bedroom, and then to the door of the connected bathroom. "Asami?" she called, sticking her head in just enough to check.

"Hey," Asami said, with an unmistakable smile in her voice. "I was starting to think you'd left."

The shower was all glass and Korra could see the outline of Asami's bare body through it, but staring felt like going overboard, so as she stepped into the bathroom to lean back against the sink counter, she diverted her eyes. "You know," she said shyly, "this would be a lot easier for me if you weren't so subtle…"

Over the sound of the water, Korra heard Asami snort with laughter and mumble, "You think I'm being subtle?"

"It's just that I'm scared of offending you," Korra explained, realizing that maybe Asami _wasn't_ being very subtle. "If I try to do something you don't-"

"Korra," Asami interrupted with laugh, opening the glass door enough to stick her head out. "You're sweet and adorable and I really, really like that, but at any point this morning you could've taken me somewhere quiet and probably had me screaming your name in a matter of seconds, so please stop worrying about what I don't want and get in the shower."

For a long moment as a multitude of sensations ignited in Korra's body, she couldn't help the excited grin that spread across her face. "Okay," she said happily, and as she kicked off her shoes and began to strip down, she decided she wasn't going to do that anymore. Wasn't going to worry about what Asami didn't want because she'd wanted everything Korra did and said so far, and she definitely wasn't going to be shy.

It took her only a few short, eager seconds to strip down, and then she opened the shower door and slipped in. Asami was busy shampooing her hair and working in the suds, but she smiled at Korra in greeting. And Korra _tried_ not to look, but she totally couldn't help it. Her eyes dropped over Asami's bare body, over her chest and her hips and down her long legs, and by the time her gaze wandered back up, Asami was grinning.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Asami said in response to the gaze, but then she cocked her head like she was considering that statement. "But I think we could improve this."

She collected a handful of suds from her hair, and then reached out to pile it up on Korra's chin. Korra tried to hold back a laugh while Asami shaped the suds into a beard, and then gathered some on her finger to draw more over Korra's upper lip. It must have been obvious that Korra was attempting not to laugh, because Asami was trying to hold back a smile too. Once she was done, she leaned back to examine her work.

"How do I look now?" Korra asked, turning her head side to side in pose. For some reason, Korra got the impression that even if Asami wasn't showing it, she felt a little shy too. It was like the soap beard was a way to break the ice, or to let Korra know that maybe the shower wasn't entirely about sex even if neither of them minded seeing the other naked again.

Asami hummed thoughtfully for a moment before snapping her fingers with an idea, and then she gathered more suds to lather over Korra's eyebrows. "There," she said as she finished. Korra turned her chin again, raising one eyebrow in another pose. "Sexy," Asami snickered. "Like a beefcake Santa Claus."

Korra snorted amusedly. "I knew you had a secret thing for jolly old men." Asami's face twisted with exaggerated disgust, and Korra laughed and reached up for a handful of suds from Asami's hair. "My turn." She stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth with intense focus while she drew a unibrow and sideburns and a soul patch. When she was done, Asami set her teeth in a wide grin as a pose, and Korra couldn't help bursting into laughter at the complete look. "Oh my god," she chortled. "This might be the biggest accomplishment of my life. I think I'm in love."

Asami turned to the glass door, and wiped the condensation off with her hand so she could get a glimpse of her reflection. When she saw it, she burst into laughter too. "It's the unibrow, isn't it?" she laughed.

"On the contrary," Korra said in playful disagreement, "The side burns do it for me." Asami rolled her eyes, but she was still laughing and the soap was drooping so that now everything was lopsided, and Korra had the sudden and intense urge to squeeze her. "You know," Korra said, wiping the soap off her brow so it wouldn't get in her eyes. "You've called me cute and adorable, but I think you might actually be cuter than me."

"That's ridiculous," Asami protested, wiping at the soap on her own face.

"Nope, wait," Korra said distractedly, putting her fingers to her ear like she was receiving breaking news from an earpiece. "This just in!" she said enthusiastically, taking her hand from her ear to hold a pretend microphone to her mouth. "Asami," she began with announcement, but she paused, pretended to hold the microphone away and whispered out the side of her lips. "…What's your last name?"

"Sato," Asami giggled.

"This just in!" Korra exclaimed again, moving her hand microphone back to her mouth. "Asami Sato is, in fact, a _major_ cutie!"

Asami tried to deadpan as she asked, "Source?" But she couldn't keep the edge of a smile off her lips.

"Source?" Korra repeated in mock offense. "You don't need a source! Look at this face." She pointed to her own face. "Does this look like the face of a liar?"

Asami laughed, grabbing Korra's face in her hands. "It looks like a face in need of a kiss," she said, leaning forward enough to peck Korra on the cheek. Only, every time Asami's lips got anywhere near her, Korra's heart fluttered, and she could do nothing but stand there and smile like a dope. "Yeah," Asami said amusedly as she let Korra's face go. "There's no way I'm cuter than you."

For the first few moments, Korra was smiling too much to come up with a response, so that by the time she recovered from the peck, Asami was already rinsing her hair out. "By the way," Korra said, because it was too late now to continue the argument about who was cuter. "Last night I remember thinking that you smelled really good, and that shampoo is definitely part of it." In response to that, Asami made a curious hum. Korra nodded, adding playfully, "That's totally why I hit on you last night."

Such an unexpectedly loud laugh escaped Asami's lips that she threw a hand over her mouth. " _You_ hit on _me_?" she asked, chest shaking with held back amusement as she moved aside, switching places with Korra so Korra could wash her hair. Clearly, Korra knew Asami had made the first move by coming over, but she couldn't get enough of how amused Asami was with the absurdity of it, so she nodded. "Korra," Asami giggled, grabbing soap to lather up her body while Korra massaged shampoo into her scalp. "As much as we seem to be getting along, I'm not sure if you ever would've hit on me…"

"What?" Korra asked in exaggerated disbelief as she rinsed her hair. "I absolutely would've hit on you!"

"Really?" Asami asked skeptically.

"Yeah," Korra answered. "I would've walked right up to you and been like," she stepped closer to Asami and casually leaned her elbow against the shower wall, "hey, girl." Asami snickered, but Korra continued the act by flexing her bicep. "What's your name?"

Though Asami was having a hard time not bursting into laughter at how ridiculous this was, she played along. "Asami."

"That's beautiful," Korra said in the lowest, most sultry voice she could manage as she gave an exaggerated wink. Then she held out her closed fist, as if she had something to give Asami. "Will you hold this for me?" And when Asami held out her open hand for whatever item Korra would pretend to give her, Korra slipped her own fingers between Asami's instead, so they were holding hands. "And then I would've led you to the dance floor."

"Real smooth," Asami complimented through a giggle.

They switched places again so Asami could rinse her body while Korra agreed, "yep, and then I would show you all the dance moves I didn't get to last night."

"Yeah?" Asami asked curiously. "Like what?"

"Well, there's this classic, obviously," Korra said, putting one hand to her head and sticking the other out to do the sprinkler. Asami immediately started laughing, and Korra could only imagine how obnoxious it looked doing this naked, but she was having too much fun to grow shy. "While you were stunned with my sprinkler ability," Korra said, and held her arms out to her sides and sent a wave through them, "I'd do the wave in circles around you. And then, pop!" She turned around, bending at the hips and shaking her butt as fast as she could. "The finale."

"Oh my god," Asami choked through her laughter, "You're actually good at that."

"That's right," Korra said with exaggerated cockiness. She was about to stop and turn around again when Asami's palm connected with her flesh so perfectly that a loud clap echoed through the bathroom. Korra gasped, whirling around and trying to hold back a mixture of shock and laughter as Asami buckled over. "Asami Sato!" Korra exclaimed in pretend offense, but Asami was laughing so hard that she'd fallen back against the shower wall and curled forward, and Korra was struggling not to crack up. "Did you just slap me in the ass?" Asami covered her mouth with her hands, and she was laughing too hard to actually answer, so all she could do was give a weak nod. "Excuse you!" Korra huffed, planting her hands against the wall on either side of Asami. "I am a respectable lady," she teased, still trying not to laugh as she pressed herself against Asami enough that Asami had to straighten up. "And if you want to start doing things like that," she paused for effect, and though Asami was still chortling so much that her face had turned red, her eyes met Korra's, "then you should know that the safe word is 'cabbage.'"

Asami snorted, erupting into such loud and fresh laughter that she buried her face in Korra's neck. "Cabbage?" she whooped, and Korra was still pressed against her, so she could feel Asami shaking with intense laughter. "Where on earth-?"

Korra snickered, "When would you ever say cabbage in bed?"

" _Never_ ," Asami laughed into her neck.

"Exactly," Korra chuckled matter-of-factly.

Asami finally picked her head up, and she let it fall back against the wall as her trembling laughs against Korra's body tapered off. By the time they'd both settled down, Korra hadn't moved. She was still pressed right up against the front of Asami, and Asami's gaze was locked on hers and she was definitely thinking about sex again. She wanted to kiss and touch, but she didn't want it to be something they rushed through because they were in the shower, even though the idea of shower sex was appealing. What she really wanted was to take her time. To explore with her hands and lips all the places she'd wanted but had been too impatient to last night. So Korra leaned in for a gentle kiss – one long, slow peck before she took her hands off the wall and stepped back.

Only, Asami's eyebrows furrowed with disappointment. "That's it?"

It was so adorable that Korra couldn't help but chuckle. "Just until we get out of here," she said, and remembering how when she had Asami against the wall last night, Asami hadn't been entirely stable on her feet, she added teasingly, "That way I don't have to worry about you falling over."

Asami rolled her eyes playfully, but said, "I suppose that's fair." As Korra laughed and reached for the body soap, she asked, "You almost done?" And Korra nodded, so she reached for the door and stepped out. "I got to find you a towel."

Asami wrapped her own towel around her body, and it only took her a minute to wander out of the bathroom and come back with a fresh one. Korra was just finishing up rinsing off, so she turned off the water, rang out her short hair, and stepped out of the shower to grab the towel Asami was handing to her.

"Thanks," Korra said, and while she began to dry herself off, Asami turned to the sink and grabbed a tube of product that she squeezed into her hand. "What's that for?" Korra asked, watching as Asami worked the product into her hair.

"This?" Asami asked. Since she was done combing her fingers through her hair, she took the towel off her body and turned to face Korra, using it to wipe the remaining product off her hands. "It's leave-in conditioner."

Despite having just taken an entire shower with Asami, seeing her so suddenly naked again caused a minor hitch in Korra's brain function. _Don't stare_. "Is that why your hair looks so soft?" she managed to ask.

"I guess," Asami chuckled. Noticing the curious glance Korra made toward the product, Asami reached behind her for the tube to squeeze some more into her hands, saying gently, "Come here."

Korra stepped forward, and though she didn't need to get too close in order for Asami reach her, she did. She got close enough to feel the tickle of Asami's chest at hers. Close enough to toss her towel onto the sink counter and set her hands on the edge, to lean in flirtatiously while Asami reached up.

"Your hair's already really soft though," Asami said, brushing her fingers back through Korra's hair to massage in the conditioner. "I liked having my hands in it last night."

Asami had been watching her hands with focus the whole time, but when she said that, they wandered around to set at the back of Korra's neck, and their gazes met. Korra knew this was the moment. Knew there was nothing standing in the way of all the kissing and touching that she wanted. Only, all she could think as she stared into Asami's bright green eyes was how amazing Asami was. All she could wonder as she traced her hands up Asami's arms, to the hands at the back of her neck to fold their fingers together, was what it would feel like to know that she could kiss and touch Asami any time of any day she wanted. She stared so long in thought that eventually Asami's eyes fell to her lips.

"Are you hesitating?" Asami asked quietly, thumb caressing the back of Korra's neck as Korra shook her head. "Then what are you thinking?"

And expressing feelings like this in words had never been what she was best at, so all she could do was say on a huff of laughter, "Date me."

Asami smirked, shoulders shaking with a soft laugh as she leaned in to press a long kiss to Korra's lips. It lasted long enough for Korra's hands to leave hers, slip down her ribs to her hips, and around to her lower back. "Okay," Asami whispered into the kiss, and with her hands at Asami's back, Korra took a retreating step to guide them toward the bedroom door. "But there's something you should know about me first."

"What?" Korra asked, arms curling tighter around Asami's waist as they left the bathroom, inching toward the bed.

Asami pulled away from the kiss just enough so her lips were still brushing Korra's as she said, "I don't kiss on the first date."

Korra couldn't help but laugh, and as they reached the bed, she met Asami's amused gaze for a moment before pressing a soft peck to the corner of her mouth. Another against her jaw. A third to the bruise in her neck. "Then I'll have to get as many as I can before our first real date."

She knew Asami was smiling, but Korra didn't say anything else as she kissed along Asami's shoulder, following her lips around the back of it so she was standing behind her. There was a method to the trail of her lips. A purpose when Korra advanced with another kiss to the back of Asami's neck, easing her forward onto the bed slow enough that Asami could protest if she wanted to. But she didn't make a sound, and Korra was grateful because this way she could get every inch of skin that she was desperate to explore. This way she could start at Asami's back, work around to her stomach and chest, and back to her lips without letting her hands or mouth miss out on a single spot.

And Asami seemed so relaxed. So trusting. She fell willingly onto her stomach and pulled a pillow to her, wrapped her arms around it and rested her chin on top, like she already knew what Korra wanted and was prepared to wait through and enjoy it. Despite that, Korra only dipped down and pressed one soft kiss to Asami's middle back, only let her hand set on the back of Asami's hip before asking, "Is this okay?"

Asami gave a content hum, but still turned her head on the pillow enough to look back over her shoulder. "Whatever you want, Korra." The corner of her mouth curled with a playful smile. "I know the safe word."

Korra laughed, dropping forward so the entire front of her body was pressed against Asami's back, and she brushed Asami's wet hair aside so she could nuzzle into the back of her neck. "You won't need it," she said amusedly, nuzzling in once more and then lifting enough to kiss between Asami's shoulder blades. "I'm only… admiring."

"And touching," Asami pointed out as Korra's hand slid up her side.

Korra hummed her agreement, following the curve of a shoulder blade with her lips and adding distractedly, "And kissing."

She was already lost enough in the bliss of indulging her lips that she wasn't sure if Asami murmured a response or not. _This_ was what she wanted. It was _better_ than what she wanted, because every spot of skin that Korra kissed was soft against her lips. Asami was stretched out beneath her and her flesh was smooth, and it carried a lingering heat from the shower that Korra could taste. She could see the expansion of every inhale. Under every open peck or graze of her tongue, she could feel the muscles of Asami's back tense with sensitivity, and once, when she kissed a spot to the side of Asami's lower back, Asami giggled into the pillow. And Korra couldn't help but let out a huff of laughter against the spot, and the breath tickled Asami so much that this time she snorted into the fabric.

It had never occurred to Korra before that moment that she could entertain laughter and sex at the same time, but she loved the idea of making Asami react. It's why she'd wanted this exploration in the first place. To find all the points that would make Asami squirm, or the points that would make her laugh or moan or maybe even both, and Korra was learning. She learned that the side spot on Asami's lower back was ticklish, but that just a little higher up and inward was a hidden sweet spot. It was a place Korra could run her tongue over or nip at gently to see Asami's fists clench, and to feel Asami's backside press up into her hips. She also learned that wasn't the only way to get Asami to lift her hips. Learned she could kiss along the plump flesh of Asami's backside, but that if she traced her fingers beneath the swell of it instead, along the soft skin toward Asami's inner thigh, Asami's hips would rise and edge back in search of firmer contact.

And Korra learned that if she journeyed back up to Asami's neck, just where her hairline ended, and pressed searing, wet kisses with grazes of tongue and teeth… _that_ was where she squirmed. Where she sucked in stunted hisses of breath that rocked the entirety of her body back into Korra's. Where she melted into the mattress one moment as if to shy away from the intensity of it, but at the same time buried her forehead as deeply as she could into the pillow to expose as much of the spot as possible. It was the kind of spot that lit nerve endings all over the body, Korra knew because hers was at the center of a breast, and the discovery was enough to make her forget that she still had so much she wanted to explore. Enough to get her to slide one hand around between Asami and the bed, and dip it down between Asami's legs while she could still reach the sweet spot with her mouth.

Korra's hand reached low, collecting some of the beginning moisture at Asami's core and then circling her finger wide like she had in the cab. The work at Asami's neck already had her breathing raggedly, but at Korra's first touch, she took in a heavy breath. It was something, but it wasn't exactly what Korra wanted. She eased off on the spot under her lips, focusing on the motion of her finger as she cycled through movements, searching for the exact one that got the best reaction. It took four tries until Korra got it precisely right, but she knew the moment she did. Even if Asami hadn't finally whimpered a muffled 'there' into the pillow, Korra would've known it by the pleased jerk of the body beneath her, or the way Asami's fingers clutched harder at the pillow for leverage to rock her hips down against Korra's hand.

Eager for more of the reaction Korra had gotten from the sweet spot at the back of Asami's neck, her mouth resumed its endeavor immediately, and Asami's body responded with urgency. She pushed onto her elbows just enough to duck her head even more, exposing the entire back of her neck while she bunched the pillow in her hands to moan into it. But whenever she needed to breathe she lifted away from the pillow, and it pushed her back into Korra's chest in a counter-rhythm to her hips, so she was rolling against Korra's body with her neck, then her back, then her hips. Only, every time Korra did something different with her mouth, every time she released suction to nip, or to or soothe the forming bruise with her tongue, it put a hitch in Asami's beat.

So Korra rocked her own hips forward, guiding Asami's movement against her fingers. It was work holding herself up like this. She could feel the strain of it in her arm and her abs and her thighs, but god it was worth it. It was worth it for the fresh excited salt on Korra's tongue, and the increasing moisture against her fingers, and the way the swell of Asami's backside fit so perfectly into the curve of her hips. And she wanted to grab the flesh of Asami's hip with her hand. Wanted to lean back and watch the building waves of pleasure roll through Asami's body, but Korra was already too lost in it. So entranced with the way it felt to have Asami under her like this that she couldn't bring herself to move. Couldn't bring herself to focus past the feeling of being _this_ close, because in no other position could she press herself this flush to _so much_ of Asami, and the heat between them was intoxicating.

" _Korra_ ," Asami moaned, and the sound of Korra's own name traveled straight through where they were pressed together, straight between her legs and deep into her core. It was a warning that Asami was close, she could feel that in every point of contact between them. Korra released her mouth's hold on the back of Asami's neck to focus on the movement of her hand, but the moment she did, Asami protested, a weak and breathless, "Don't let go."

Korra pressed an open kiss to the spot before latching down, sucking hard through her lips while her tongue traced the seal of them, and the grip sent Asami careening over the edge. She yelled into the pillow, unable to maintain any sense of rhythm as the arc of her back pulsed so deeply it threatened to pull her away from Korra's mouth. So Korra stopped holding herself up, settling the entirety of her weight over Asami's back so the throb of climax wouldn't heave her away from Korra's hand or lips.

It was the best decision she'd ever made, because she couldn't just feel the throbbing beat against her fingers. She could feel every rippling shudder that rolled through Asami's body. Could feel each shallow, trembling breath that quivered through Asami's back. Could feel each muffled moan and whimper echo in her own chest. And after Asami got over the peak and fell into fading aftershocks against her fingers, Korra let go with her mouth to rest her head on Asami's back, where she could hear the rush of Asami's racing heartbeat. She loved the deep throbbing sound of it and knowing she'd caused it, and she lay there listening until Asami recovered breath and shifted.

At the shift, Korra took her hand back and pushed against the mattress, holding herself up enough for Asami to turn over beneath her, so they were facing each other again. She couldn't do much with her hands, but Asami reached up to cup her face, guiding her down until their lips met. And she wasn't sure if it was because Asami was still weak, or whether it was something more, something deeper, but for how open it was, the kiss was impossibly soft. Asami's full lips followed Korra's every time they parted, settled around one every time they closed, but never tensed or pulled or pushed at Korra's mouth. They were just… there. Gentle and pliant and inviting. Loving.

After one long minute, Asami broke the kiss and dropped her head back into the pillow, her thumb idly caressing Korra's cheek. "You know," she said eventually, with a playfully scolding tone to her voice, "I wanted to touch you first this time."

Korra couldn't help but smirk, and dipped her head to press an apologetic kiss to Asami lips. "Sorry."

"No you're not," Asami accused teasingly, and snaked her arms around Korra's neck.

"Not entirely," Korra agreed amusedly, setting her forehead against Asami's. "But I _was_ going to turn you back around first… I got kind of… carried away." Korra pulled back a little before Asami could respond, narrowing her eyes in response to a previous accusation. "And you know you could've stopped me if you wanted to go first."

Asami laughed, tightening her arms around Korra's neck to pull her closer again, saying against her lips, "You severely overestimate my willpower."

Asami dragged her down into a deep kiss, so all Korra could do to respond was smile into it as they started a fresh rhythm. And she would've lowered herself entirely onto Asami, but only seconds into the kiss, Asami's arms let go and her hands wandered between them. Korra knew what would happen, knew Asami would bring the same pleasure as she just had, but the movement caused a vivid thought of being touched, and that thought made Korra's stomach lurch with impatience. Especially when Asami's hands simply met her abs, and then curved around to trace up her back.

She asked almost pleadingly into the kiss, "You're not going to tease me again, are you?"

Asami huffed with laughter, kissing away from Korra's lips and along her jaw. "No," she answered, and as she copied, "I'm just… admiring," her hands worked back to Korra's chest and her lips reached Korra's earlobe.

The combination of the direct grip at Korra's chest and the moist heat against her ear made her eyes flutter closed. It made her so weak that she barely managed to release the content hum stuck in her throat, and even though she was still holding herself up, she slumped more heavily into Asami's hands. It left her mind completely blank, and she'd always loved the feeling against her chest, even as one of Asami's hands left to explore the rest of her body, but Asami's lips were all she could focus on. Every searing wet kiss and nip and tug at her earlobe. Each hot breath that fanned against her skin. Every time the tip of Asami's tongue traced the shell of her ear. It was all so simple, but if felt so good that with every other breath she'd forget how to inhale. She'd forget until Asami's kneading hand gave her chest a stirring squeeze, and the motion forced air back into her lungs so she could fall through the pattern again.

She hardly recognized the path of the hand that was exploring her. That was caressing up her side and over her back and down her arm, pressing into and massaging and tracing every defined muscle it could reach. Not until it stopped exploring and reached her hip to start sliding inward did she remember it was there. Then she couldn't help but forget the lips, and focus on the hand and its destination as it slipped between her legs.

"Korra," Asami whispered against her ear as a finger pressed into the moisture at her core. "Let me know when I get it right."

Korra hummed her unsteady understanding, but Asami seemed to recognize how incoherent she was, because the lips at her ear ceased and the hand at her chest moved up to set against her collarbone. It left her free to focus on the motion of the hand between her legs as it worked through different motions and pressures and speeds. And the truth was that all of it felt right. She'd never been picky and even the testing inconsistency of Asami's touch was working, but then Asami hit on something particularly powerful. Discovered just the right amount of hard and slow to impair Korra's control and make her clench against the touch.

"Like that," Korra breathed.

And she was content with only the touch. Content to let Asami stay exactly as she was, free hand on Korra's upper chest and breathing gently against her ear. But only seconds after Asami found the right motion, her lips fell and opened against Korra's neck, and what was left of Korra's control shattered. Her hips ground into every heavy stroke of Asami's hand, following it desperately for no other reason than that her body simply responded. Needed to feel like it was taking part instead of simply receiving because that made everything more intense. She sacrificed the support of one hand to slide it to the back of Asami's head, to tangle her fingers in that gorgeous black hair and encourage the lips at her neck.

It was amazing, and it was enough and it would have taken her to the end in a matter of minutes, but then Asami stopped sucking at her neck. Her lips released suction and she buried her face against Korra's shoulder. Nuzzled in with her nose and pressed a peck so soft in contrast to the pressure building between Korra's hips that it was everything Korra didn't know she needed. It was so affectionate and warm, and that warmth seeped through her chest, pooled at her core to melt the rigid tension of the nearing end.

Then Asami pulled away, dropped back into the pillow and cupped Korra's face with her free hand. Stared straight at her with those bright green and whispered, "I like you, Korra."

With that affectionate warmth already leaving her weak, those words sent Korra sliding effortlessly into climax. Korra dipped forward, catching Asami's lips to kiss her deeply, so she'd feel exactly what those words did to her as she muffled a low moan on Asami's tongue. Korra's eyes squeezed shut with the kiss, and they were the only tense things in her entire body. The pleasure was like liquid in her veins. It coursed through her with every beat of her heart and every pulse against Asami's hand, and she never knew it could be so smooth. Never knew climax could be anything but tension and shuddering and breathlessness, but god it was easy. And when it ended, she wasn't weak with exhaustion, she was weak with satisfaction. With contentment that went beyond the feeling between her legs, to the one that was swelling in her chest.

She pulled away from the kiss slowly, and reluctantly, and set her forehead against Asami's without opening her eyes. She stayed like that for what felt like minutes until the euphoric feeling faded enough for her to speak. "Did you know saying that would finish me?" she asked weakly.

"Yes," Asami said, and Korra felt a hand brush back through her still damp hair. "But I meant it." Korra cracked her eyes, meeting Asami's gaze as Asami's arms slid around her neck. "You don't have to go home yet, do you?"

Korra hummed a negative, pressing a soft kiss to Asami's cheek before saying, "I can stay a while."

Asami smiled at that, but asked in the same tone as she had that morning, "Can I ask you something?" Korra nodded, and so Asami unfolded her arms to set a hand on Korra's left shoulder, pointing at it with her finger. "Where'd you get this scar?"

Korra chuckled at the unexpectedness of the change in topic, but answered, "snowboarding."

Asami hummed thoughtfully, moving her hand to point at another under Korra's chin. "This one?"

"Headbutting in soccer," Korra said. "Another player came up under me and missed the ball."

That time, Asami winced, but moved on to stroke her finger over a scar on the back of Korra's right hip. "And this one?"

"How did you even see that one?" Korra asked with a surprised laugh, but all Asami did was give a smug grin. "I got locked out of my apartment, and Bolin bet me twenty bucks that I couldn't climb the tree outside to get in."

"What floor do you live on?" Asami asked, and when Korra said 'third,' her eyes widened. "Oh my god, Korra! You just can't back down from a challenge, or what?"

"There might have been alcohol involved," Korra laughed. "Hence the falling out of the tree."

Asami rolled her eyes, moving her hand down to a scar on the side of Korra's thigh. "Dare I ask about this one?"

Korra snorted, feeling her cheeks tint a little because she definitely wasn't telling Asami about that one. It might have involved alcohol and cops and a few stitches. "I'll tell you about that one later," she chuckled.

Asami's eyes narrowed. "There's a story, isn't there?" she asked, to which Korra nodded. "An embarrassing one?"

"Extremely," Korra confirmed. It looked like Asami was going to ask what the story was, because she appeared amused at the slight rosiness in Korra's face. So before she could press, Korra asked, "Can _I_ ask _you_ something?"

"Yeah."

"Well," Korra began, "I can stay for a little while, but I do have to go home eventually and feed my dog…"

Asami's eyebrows rose as she asked with deep concern, "Is your dog at home starving right now?"

"No," Korra chuckled. "A friend dropped by to feed her this morning because I was planning on staying at Mako and Bolin's last night. But she _will_ need dinner." When Korra paused, Asami hummed for her to continue. "I was thinking, if you're not sick of me yet, maybe you could come with me. I'll cook you dinner since I actually have food at my place."

Asami laughed at that, returning her arms around Korra's neck flirtatiously as she asked, "Will it count as our first real date?"

Korra hummed with a teasing amount of consideration, and pressed an indicative kiss to Asami's lips. "That depends on if I get to kiss you or not." She could hear Asami laugh as she trailed gentle pecks along her jaw. "Because you don't kiss on the first date, and I'm not sure I've had my fill yet."

"I guess," Asami said, giving a soft shrug, "for you, I could make an exception."

Korra couldn't help but laugh as she lifted enough to meet Asami's gaze again. "That's good, because I was about to cram in as much kissing as I could."

"Oh, no," Asami protested, tightening her arms to bring Korra back down. "You can still cram." And when her lips met Korra's, Korra was completely okay with the idea of cramming. In fact, she found herself wishing this weekend would never end.


	4. Dinner

_Yay for more chapters! So I wanted to ask you guys, are you all good with how long these chapters are? Do you mind that they're a bit lengthy or nah not really?_

 _Oh! It was brought to my attention that you FFN readers may not know: Chapter 3 (Breakfast) was a continuation of a snippet I added to the end note of Chapter 2 over on AO3. So if you wanted to see what prompted the breakfast date and shower shenanigans, head over to AO3 and read it at the end of Chapter 2!_

 _That's it! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so I hope you like it too :)_

… _.._

Asami stared across her bed at Korra, her legs folded beneath her and squinting with concentration, trying not to get distracted by the way Korra looked. They'd gotten dressed after taking a nap… sort of. Asami had put on pajama shorts and a loose t-shirt, but Korra had been satisfied lounging around for the last hour in her underwear and tank top. It was hard for Asami not to let her mind wander and start thinking about how nice Korra's toned and darkly tanned legs were stretched out beside her, or the fact that Korra hadn't even bothered to put on a bra.

The task at hand was what Asami needed to focus on. In order to learn more about each other, they'd decided to play two truths and one lie. Asami was trying to figure out which of the three facts Korra had said about herself was false, but this round was proving difficult. Either Korra hadn't gone to university, had six siblings, or had only started playing soccer seven years ago. It was taking so long for Asami to guess that the edges of Korra's lips were beginning to curl with amusement.

"You close to figuring it out?" Korra asked.

Asami hummed thoughtfully, but she really had no idea which of these was the lie. She needed help, and she knew exactly where to get it. "One sec," she murmured, reaching behind her for the cell phone she'd left on the nightstand.

She opened up the internet browser, managing to type in Korra's name before Korra asked suspiciously, "What are you doing?" Asami ignored the question with a smirk, looking for the link she wanted, and when Korra leaned forward to try and catch a glimpse, she leaned back. "Asami Sato," Korra scolded, "What do you think you're doing?" She gasped when it seemed to click what was going on. "You can't look up my biography!" Asami snorted with laughter, leaning back even more when Korra tried to grab the phone from her. "That's cheating!" Korra exclaimed through a laugh, and Asami leaned so far that she fell onto her back. Korra pounced on her, grabbing the phone out of her hands the moment before she managed to read anything useful. "Oh my god," Korra chuckled when she read what was on the phone. "You are _such_ a cheater! What did you see?"

"Nothing helpful," Asami groaned lightheartedly, sitting back up when Korra got off of her and resumed her sitting position. "This one's hard."

"It's not a big deal if you get it wrong," Korra told her. "Just take a guess."

"Okay," Asami sighed. "Um…" She thought for another moment. Korra hadn't said much about her family yet, and she'd never mentioned university, so Asami couldn't take educated guesses about either of those. However, there was no way Korra had only been playing soccer for seven years with how good she was. "The lie is that you've only been playing soccer for seven years," Asami guessed. Korra beamed, shaking her head victoriously. "What!" Asami exclaimed in disbelief. "No way. Seriously?"

"Yeah," Korra said happily. "I only started playing in high school."

"Did you go to university?" Asami asked curiously, and Korra shook her head. "So… did you get recruited for soccer right out of high school?"

"No," Korra answered. "I moved here after high school to try out for the league, but I didn't make it right away. They saw something in me, though. Let me practice with the team until I was good enough to make it."

That was it then, the lie was that Korra had six siblings. "How many siblings _do_ you have?"

"I'm an only child," Korra said, and then laughed, "I probably traumatized my parents into not having any more."

Asami smiled knowingly. "You were a wild one?"

"You have no idea," Korra confirmed, and then motioned to Asami. "Okay, your turn."

"Alright," Asami murmured, thinking for a minute to come up with some facts. Building off of Korra's university theme, she listed, "I failed a class at university. I dated a professor at university. I blew up a car at university."

Korra snorted with laughter at the last one, asking in disbelief, "Really, those are the options?" Asami simply nodded, unable to contain a smile because she was curious which one Korra would pick as the lie. "Okay, you…" Korra paused, drawing in a thoughtful breath before saying, "Didn't blow up a car."

Asami's smile grew as she shook her head. "Guess again."

Korra's jaw dropped, but she guessed, "You didn't fail a class."

"Korra!" Asami exclaimed with mock offense, grabbing a pillow and playfully throwing it at her. "Why are you so convinced that I dated a professor?"

Korra snickered as she caught the pillow, her cheeks tinting with a light blush. "I don't know." She shrugged. "Because you're so smart. I guess I figured you'd date someone smart before dating, you know," she motioned toward herself, "an athlete or something."

"Okay, one," Asami said amusedly, "being smart and being an athlete aren't mutually exclusive." Korra rolled her eyes, but Asami continued, "And two, I used to date meatheads all the time just to piss my dad off."

"Oh," Korra drawled teasingly, gesturing between them, "is _that_ what this is?"

"Not at all," Asami said with sudden urgency. She knew Korra was only messing with her, but she didn't want there to be a doubt in Korra's mind that she was in this for herself. In it because she liked Korra and being with Korra and the way Korra made her feel. "I haven't even talked to my dad in years, so…"

Korra watched her for a few silent seconds, during which Asami couldn't bring herself to meet Korra's gaze because she shouldn't have even said that in the first place. The dramatic shift in tone had made things uncomfortable, and she shouldn't have said it but she got scared at the idea of Korra thinking she was only part of a pattern, when truly she was breaking a pattern. She was everything Asami thought she'd never find.

"I'm sorry," Korra said. "I shouldn't have joked about it when I knew you didn't want to talk about this."

"No," Asami said sincerely, "No, don't apologize. It's my fault. I brought it up in the first place." She sighed, twisting her hands together for a moment before meeting Korra's gaze. She couldn't leave it like this now, awkward; she had to explain at least a little. "Look, um," she took in a breath so she could say, "My mom died when I was a kid, and I don't have a good relationship with my dad."

"It's okay," Korra said, reaching over to put a hand on Asami's knee. "You don't have to tell me anything if you aren't ready to." Her thumb made a gentle stroke against Asami's skin, and she gave a comforting smile for the information she'd already heard.

Asami nodded gratefully, because she really wasn't ready to talk about it. As much as she already liked Korra, she wasn't ready to trust that much. But she wasn't used to not being forced, either. Maybe it was because of her social circle, but she'd never been with someone who literally had no idea about her family history, or her father. Never been with someone who didn't ask questions or make assumptions that put her in a position where she _had_ to explain herself. Everything about her father and her company and, lately, her life, was in the news or tabloids. Reporters asked her invasive questions, and if they didn't get the information they wanted from her, then they got it elsewhere. People knew things about her that she often wasn't ready to share. She could see, however, by the genuine concern and sympathy in Korra's eyes, that she had no idea. It wasn't an act to earn Asami's trust or affection.

"You really don't keep up with current events," Asami mused, but though she tried to smile playfully, it was unsuccessful.

"Not really unless it has to do with sports," Korra agreed, and though she smiled too, that concern never left her gaze.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" Asami asked timidly, and Korra nodded. "Would you, maybe, not look me up? Not me, or my company, or my family." Korra's eyebrows furrowed with thought, and Asami felt her heart sink because maybe Korra thought she was hiding something. "It's just," she explained hastily, "I've never been with someone who doesn't know my life story, and have expectations based on some preconceived idea of who I am or where I'm from. I've never been able to open up when _I'm_ ready, on my own time. But I get to be myself with you, which…" She huffed with dry laughter. "That's really rare for me."

There wasn't even a moment of thought or hesitation before Korra nodded. "Okay." And Asami's face must've shown the surprise she felt about the lack of pause, because Korra offered a smile, telling her sincerely, "I want you to be comfortable with me, Asami, and if avoiding information about you that hasn't come from you is what I need to do, then okay." She swiped her hands together and threw them up playfully. "I'll avoid current events at all costs."

Asami really didn't expect Korra to ever pressure her for details, but that reply still made her so happy that she vaulted across the small space between them and pinned Korra on the bed beneath her. "Thank you," she said, pressing a grateful peck to Korra's cheek.

"No worries." Korra's hands landed on Asami's hips, working under the fabric of her t-shirt to set against skin, and she loved that Korra was at ease enough now not to be shy about touching her however she wanted. Especially when it meant having Korra's hands against her flesh, because they were always so warm, and though they were rough with callouses, they were still remarkably soft. "Asami," Korra prompted expectantly, and Asami's eyebrows rose curiously. "Did you really blow up a car?"

Asami laughed, having completely forgotten they were even playing the game. "I actually failed a class _because_ I blew up a car."

"How do you even-" Korra faltered over her own disbelief. "What on earth were you doing?"

"I was trying to find a way to make cars more fuel efficient," she answered amusedly. "I was experimenting with batteries and engines, and I had the idea, but I still had a lot to learn." She chuckled, remembering how furious and terrified her professor had been when he saw the car engulfed in flames. "I took the rig out for a test drive and it didn't exactly work the way I wanted it to."

"Oh my god," Korra breathed, eyes wide with awe. "You could have died!"

"Yeah, maybe," Asami chuckled. "But I didn't. Just had to retake the class. The professor wouldn't let me touch _anything_ the second time around, it was so annoying."

"Wow," Korra laughed, still looking like she was in utter disbelief. "So did you figure it out?"

"The fuel efficiency?" Asami asked, to which Korra nodded. "I'm still working on it, actually. I'm so close to a breakthrough, though, I can feel it." Of course it helped that Future Industries had far more resources than the university ever did. At work, she didn't really have to worry about budget or time constraints or, greatest of all, oversight, and she was free to be as creative as she liked. That was one of the few benefits to come out of her taking over the company, and on its own was almost enough to make it worth it. "What?" Asami prompted, because Korra had simply been staring at her since she'd responded.

"You're just," Korra started thoughtfully, "something else." Her hands left Asami's hips, tracing up along her back. "I'm not entirely convinced I'm not still drunk, and this is all a figment of my imagination."

Asami's lips pursed with a flattered smile. "Well, you know," she said, "if I'd known you were hiding in the sports side of media all this time, I'd have started watching soccer a lot sooner."

Korra's face lit up excitedly. "You're going to watch my next game?"

"Absolutely," Asami said, adding playfully, "Can you get me a jersey that says Dribble Dragon on the back to wear while I watch?"

Korra gasped with mock offense, lifting a hand to put it over Asami's mouth. "Every time you say that name, the soccer gods shed a tear."

Asami snickered amusedly, pulling her face away from Korra's palm in order to repeat teasingly, "Dribble Dragon."

"Asami Sato!" Korra exclaimed, holding back a laugh. "You stop it before you make them cry." Asami took in a deep, preparatory breath. "Don't you dare," Korra chuckled, dropping her hands to pose her fingers threateningly over Asami's ribs.

Just the fact that Asami didn't know if Korra was really going to do it already made it tickle, and she couldn't resist letting out a soft snort as she whispered again, "Dribble Dragon."

"Now you've done it!" Korra conceded, fingers attacking her ribs. Asami squealed and rolled off, but Korra followed, rolling on top of her to keep tickling. "You've angered the soccer gods!"

"I'm sorry!" Asami shrieked through her laughter.

"They can't hear you," Korra teased.

Asami gasped, gathering the breath to shout, "I'm sorry!"

Korra stopped tickling, shifting onto one elbow at Asami's side to look at her. "That's nice and all," Korra said, completely serious except for the glitter of laughter in her blue eyes, "but they demand a blood sacrifice." At that, Asami purposefully gasped in feigned terror. "Don't worry," Korra said instantly, lips curling with a smirk, "they also accept goals, and luckily for you, I _am_ the Dribble Dragon."

"My savior," Asami chuckled, pressing a grateful kiss to Korra's cheek.

Korra grinned heroically, letting the entertainment fade for a few moments in order to ask seriously, "Do you actually want to _come_ to my next game?"

"Really?" Asami asked in shock. She knew it had to be relatively easy for Korra to get tickets, but Asami actually _going_ to a game seemed like a big deal. The kind of big deal you reserve for close friends, family, and a significant other…

"Yeah," Korra answered, pushing herself up to sit. "You could sit with my friends if you didn't want to go alone. Or by yourself, if you wanted to wait a while before meeting them." Korra's mouth tugged to one side, and she shrugged self-consciously. "You don't have to go, if you don't want to. I know the games are kind of long. I was just… giving you the option."

It was downright adorable how bashful Korra got about asking, but Asami couldn't really focus on the fact that Korra wanted her at the game. "You want me to meet your friends?"

She and Korra had only met the night before, and the idea of Korra already wanting to introduce her was as exciting as it was terrifying. _This_ was how Korra completely demolished barriers. By being sweet, and silly, and shy, and by putting herself out there like this without making Asami feel pressured to do the same. Only, it made Asami _want_ to do the same. Made it so that she found herself letting go and having fun and _feeling things_ without even consciously trying to, and that just _didn't_ happen to her. Not Asami Sato. Not after everything she'd been through.

She was guarded and careful and she didn't just fall for people, but she hadn't second-guessed _anything_ since last night. Not waking up with Korra. Not going to breakfast with Korra, or having sex with her again even when it was intimate and Asami's heart stuttered in ways it _never_ had. She hadn't second-guessed falling asleep with Korra again, or being ready to spend the rest of the day, and maybe night, with her again. There was the doubt of experience screaming at her to slow down, because she was flawed, and because she had baggage that Korra might not have space for, but everything else in her was eager to fall blindly. Korra already seemed to understand Asami in ways nobody ever had. Her life was assuredly as warm and comfortable and inviting as Korra herself, and Asami wanted to experience as much of it as Korra would share, even if she couldn't do the same.

"Well," Korra answered hesitantly, like she couldn't decipher what the right answer was supposed to be. "Yeah…" After a moment, she laughed and added, "The ones that won't scare you away at least."

Asami laughed too, nodding in agreement. "Okay, yeah. I want to go." And she adored the way simply saying yes to things made Korra's face light up, and couldn't help but admit amusedly, "I'd probably go to the nastiest swamp in the world if it got you to smile like that."

Korra set her teeth together in a wide grin. "Lucky for you," she said, pecking Asami on the lips, "I'm easy to please." She hopped off the bed, adding happily, "You can start with meeting my dog."

Taking that as the cue that Korra was ready to leave, Asami followed off the mattress. They strode around for a few minutes getting fully dressed again, during which Asami wondered if maybe she should bring an extra pair of clothes. She wasn't sure if Korra inviting her over meant to sleep over, or if Korra only wanted her to stay for dinner. Tomorrow was Sunday, so while Asami didn't have to work, she had no idea if Korra would be busy. It took her a conflicted minute, staring into her walk-in closet trying to come up with an answer on her own, before she decided she should just ask.

"Korra," she prompted, turning away from the closet. Korra hummed, plopping down on the side of the bed since she was ready to go. "…Should I bring extra clothes?"

Korra's eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully, and then ascended when she realized exactly what Asami was asking. "Yeah," she answered, the corners of her lips twitching with a smile. "If you want to." Asami grabbed her leather backpack, carrying it over to the bed and setting it beside Korra so it was ready to hold her clothes. As she turned back to choose, Korra began to say, "I can't believe you aren't sick of-" But she stopped short when Asami's cat jumped on the bed, so startled by it that she yelped, flinching bad enough that she nearly fell off.

Asami snorted with laughter, though she couldn't blame Korra, seeing as her timid tan and brown cat hadn't made an appearance yet.

"Where did-" Korra stuttered in shock. "Is that yours? Does it live here?"

"Yeah," Asami chuckled, coming back over to hold out her hand. "This is Tashi." The cat crept up, letting her scratch the side of his neck before he wandered curiously to Korra. "He's a bit shy," Asami explained, watching while Korra recovered from her surprise enough to pet him.

"Hi, Tashi," Korra said, rubbing down his back to scratch above his tail. Tashi stepped onto Korra's lap while she pet him, stretching up to rub the side of his face against hers. "He's so sweet," she giggled, and then looked at Asami. "Why didn't you tell me you had a cat?"

"I didn't think we'd see him at all," Asami answered, striding to the closet to finish gathering her clothing. By the time she turned around again, Korra was holding Tashi in her arms, and Asami couldn't help but grin. He never even came out of hiding when she had visitors… not that she ever really had any… "He really likes you."

"What a cutie," Korra mused. She cuddled him to her chest and said to him, "If you weren't so shy, I'd say you could come over too."

"Does Naga like cats?" Asami asked, folding her spare outfit and pajamas into her backpack and then hurrying to grab her toothbrush from the bathroom.

"Naga likes everything," Korra laughed, letting Tashi climb off of her to explore the rest of the bed.

Having packed everything she needed for a simple night away, Asami flung her backpack over her shoulders. "Maybe next time you come over, you can bring Naga." She started toward the bedroom door, Korra following behind her. "Tashi might hide the whole time, though."

Korra grinned her enthusiasm for the idea as they headed down the stairs. "I'm sure Naga would love that." As they reached the bottom, Korra grabbed a cell phone off the decorative table to check it. "And it's dead."

"Do you get important calls?" Asami asked, and Korra shook her head unconcernedly as she put the phone into her pocket. "I'll be right back," Asami said. "I have to make sure Tashi's food and water are full."

Korra nodded understandingly, and Asami wandered toward the back of her house. She passed the living room and strode down the wide hall, going by the office, kitchen, and dining room on her way. Eventually she reached the laundry room, where she kept Tashi's dishes stored on top of the dryer. The food bowl was half empty, so she filled that up and then grabbed the water bowl, carrying it to the kitchen to rinse it and fill it with fresh water. By the time she was done returning it to its spot, it had been a couple of minutes, and she began heading back down the hall to get Korra. Only, as she passed by the open office door, she caught movement from inside, and backtracked to see that Korra had found her way into it.

"Did you get lost?" Asami asked playfully, leaning against the doorframe.

Korra startled a bit because she'd been busy scanning the titles on a bookshelf, but she turned, smiling guiltily. "I was exploring a bit, I hope that's okay."

"It's fine," Asami said, and added amusedly, "Not much to see though." She never even ventured into half the rooms in her house.

"Yeah…" Korra agreed, glancing around the rest of the office.

She was scanning everything thoughtfully, like there was something she wanted to say but wasn't sure about, so Asami prompted, "What?"

"No, it's just," Korra started hesitantly, and then stopped. She clearly had something she wanted to say or ask, and now Asami was curious, so she nodded encouragingly. "Your house is _really_ nice," Korra continued, "but… you don't have any, um, personal things…" _Oh_ , Asami thought, _that_. "Like, no keepsakes or pictures of people or anything."

"Right," Asami murmured.

"I'm sorry if that's offensive," Korra blurted worriedly. What Asami didn't entirely expect was the understanding when she said, "I know it's probably because of the family thing, or whatever it is you don't want to talk about. That's why I wasn't going to say anything." She shifted timidly, offering a shrug. "But you said you don't really cook, so you probably don't eat here, your TV wasn't even plugged in, and it doesn't look like you've touched any of these books in a long time… I was just wondering how and where you unwind after a long day at work. You know? None of this seems like _your_ space." She paused, and then said lightheartedly, "Your house kind of looks like a stage home." But Korra froze and drew in a breath, and then suddenly winced as her cheeks colored. "And I'm being _so_ nosy. I'm really sorry."

"No," Asami laughed, "it's okay, really." She paced forward, giving Korra a reassuring kiss before reaching for her hand. "Come on, I'll show you where I unwind."

Folding her fingers with Korra's, she led the way back to the front of the house, grabbing her car keys on the way out the door and then heading around the side to where the disconnected garage was. They passed the sports car Asami always parked outside the garage and reached the side door that led into it, where she flicked on the light. As they stepped past the entranceway, Asami couldn't help taking in a deep breath of the scent that she loved. The stuffy sweet smell of the wood the garage was built from, the mixed bitterness of engine grease and solder, and the ingrained smell of coffee from all the late nights.

"Here," Asami said, motioning to the picture before them.

Korra said nothing for a long few seconds, but then she stepped forward. "See, _this_ ," she said, turning so Asami could see her excited smile. "This tells me a lot about you." She strode right to the pulled apart car at the center of the garage. "For example, you like to unwind from work with _more_ work."

"I did say I love my job," Asami chuckled.

"True," Korra agreed amusedly, wandering to the worktable that spanned the entire width at the back of the garage. "You're a coffee drinker," Korra observed, pointing at the coffee maker, "which I already knew because of breakfast. You also like music." She motioned toward the radio, and then reached up to pull an engineering book off the wall-mounted shelf above the long table. "You're a note-taker," she mused, flipping through the pages. She laughed when she reached one in particular, and showed Asami the page. "And a stickler for grammar, would you look at that."

Asami giggled, watching fondly as she replaced the book and continued down the surface. She traced her hand over the various tools and machine and electrical parts that Asami tinkered with when she was feeling creative, and did the same with the one and only framed photo Asami owned. It was a picture of her and her parents when she was a kid, and it seemed Korra knew that, because she hesitated at it and then moved on like she didn't want to press for details. When she reached the end of the table, however, she stopped.

"Hold on," she said in shock, pointing to the TV and gaming console and asking in disbelief, " _You play video games_?"

"Sometimes," Asami laughed. Korra was simply too stunned to respond, so Asami explained, "They keep my hands and mind busy when I get restless. Or keep me from getting frustrated if I hit a creative block."

"You're full of surprises," Korra said, pacing back across the garage to where Asami was, and when she got there, she threw her arms around Asami's waist. "I think," she began teasingly, pulling Asami close, "I'm going to take you home with me and then never let you leave."

"But do you have video games?" Asami asked with playful skepticism, snaking her arms around Korra's neck in reception. Korra hummed a confirmation. "Okay," she said, "Let me go get Tashi so he can come too."

Korra smiled happily at her playing along, and glanced around the garage for a few final moments, saying more seriously, "Thanks for showing me your happy space."

Asami set her forehead against Korra's, meeting her blue eyes gratefully. "Thanks for noticing the house wasn't it."

Instead of responding in words, Korra kissed her with the characteristic tenderness that constantly made Asami's stomach flutter. With such a gentle depth that Asami was certain Korra poured her soul into every one, and it was so easy to get lost in the honesty of her affection. Asami could kiss for minutes and hours and days because the longer they did, the more she felt, and if she _already_ felt _this_ much then she wanted to know how deep that feeling could go.

After a minute, Korra pulled away from the kiss, her lips curled with a smile. "We should go before we get carried away."

"Good idea," Asami agreed.

She turned the lights off as they headed back out the door, and then led the way to her car. Following Korra's directions, she drove them to Korra's apartment building, parking outside where instructed. It was a three-flight trudge up to the third floor as they took the stairs, which seemed like habit for Korra, seeing as there was an elevator in the lobby of the building. The moment they reached Korra's unit, Asami could tell Naga was waiting. There was a shiny black nose just visible under the door, accompanied by an excited sniffing.

Korra huffed amusedly at it as she stuck the key into the lock, and called to the dog, "Back up, Naga."

The sniffing disappeared, and so Korra pushed open the door and led the way in. The first thing Asami noticed was the massive white dog. It was hard to focus on anything else, what with the way Naga practically tackled Korra to the floor in her excitement, and then immediately crashed into Asami's legs in greeting. Asami almost toppled over with the weight because Naga was _huge_ , and she wasn't entirely convinced that she wasn't being introduced to a bear.

"Naga, calm down," Korra laughed, kneeling to get a handle on the enthusiasm. It really only put her face in licking proximity, though Naga did settle enough that she stopped jumping around and sat. "This is Asami," Korra told the dog.

"Hi, Naga," Asami said happily, reaching out to scratch behind her ears and getting her hand licked instead.

Korra rose, gesturing about the apartment. "So, this is it."

Asami glanced around, feeling a smile on her lips because Korra's apartment was as comfortable as she imagined it to be. It was an open floor studio, humble in furnishing and taste, though large enough in size to display Korra's sports star income and not feel cluttered, and probably also to accommodate Naga. The bedroom area was on the left side of the door, where there was a bed, a few dressers, and a door to the bathroom. Directly in front of them was the living area, which had a large L-shaped couch and TV center, and beyond that was a sliding door to a balcony. Just to the right of the door was the open kitchen. However, where Asami expected there to be a dining table in front of it, there was a billiards table instead.

"Sorry about the mess…" Korra mumbled, pacing forward to pick up a few strewn articles of dirty clothing near the bed.

Asami waved it off amusedly, because it was really just the clothes and some scattered dog toys, and it made the place feel lived in. So did the pictures and art hanging on random spots of the walls, and the mantle near the sliding door that had a couple soccer trophies on it. Needless to say, Korra's place was homier than Asami's, and she liked that a lot.

"Where are we eating dinner?" she asked curiously, pointing toward the billiards table.

"Oh," Korra chuckled, motioning for Asami to follow her to the sliding door. "I always eat outside." She opened it and walked out to show Asami the full table set on the balcony. "I like it out here," she said with a shrug, "and company never seems to mind."

"I can see why," Asami mused. The balcony had a spectacular view of Republic City, and she could only imagine how amazing it looked when everything was lit up at night. Korra wasn't kidding about always eating out here either, because she even had standing heat lamps beside the table and the nearby loveseat for the colder months. "Is that the tree you fell out of?" Asami asked, gesturing to a tall one a few feet from the railing.

"That's the one," Korra confirmed, leaning over the railing to point. "I made it to that branch right there… and then hit every branch on the way down."

Asami laughed, following back inside and then plopping down on the couch because Korra murmured about changing into fresh clothes. While she waited, Naga jumped on the couch next to her, falling into her lap to request petting even though she was _way_ to heavy to be a lap dog. Not that Asami minded; she liked animals, and showering Naga with affection would undoubtedly earn bonus points with Korra.

Even though she was enjoying giving belly scratches to the canine, Korra laughed when she noticed how Asami was being smothered, and came over as she pulled on a clean t-shirt. "You can push her off if you want," Korra said teasingly, "I'm getting a little jealous."

Asami made Naga move so she could stand and meet Korra. "Aw, come here," she cooed, setting her hands Korra's stomach. "I'll rub your belly."

Korra snickered, turning Asami around to hug her waist from behind, just to be close as she shuffled them purposefully toward the kitchen. "My belly is empty and needs food." They got to the fridge, and Korra let go of Asami's waist with one hand to open the door. "You like fish?" she asked, returning her arm to the embrace, and Asami loved the affection so much that she folded her hands over Korra's in hopes that it wouldn't end.

Asami hummed an affirmative, and noticing how Korra's fridge was stocked with healthy things like meats and vegetables and eggs, said, "You really _do_ cook."

"I do," Korra agreed. "My body's the money maker, I got to take good care of it."

Asami shifted to stand out of the way when Korra let her go, asking teasingly, "Is that why you were drinking last night?"

Korra huffed with laughter, reaching into the fridge to pull out ingredients. "Last night was a special occasion." She turned to put the food on the nearest counter, and then closed the fridge. "Mako got promoted to detective, so we were out celebrating."

"Oh, no!" Asami exclaimed amusedly. "And you ditched him to go home with me?"

"I did," Korra said with a smirk. "And I'd do it again." While Asami laughed at that, she put a large pan on the stove and turned it on, and then unwrapped a fish, plopping it onto a cutting board. "I'm glad you like fish, by the way. I wanted to make you a specialty from where I grew up."

"Do you want some help?" Asami asked.

Korra raised a suspicious eyebrow. "I thought you didn't cook."

"I mean, don't let me anywhere near the stove," Asami answered, reaching for a knife from the rack and twirling it skillfully in her hand. "But I know how to use a knife if you want me to cut vegetables or something."

"That's…" Korra glanced from Asami's face to the knife and chuckled, "Terrifying." But instead of answering Asami's question, she asked excitedly, "Have you ever tried the thing where you stab between your fingers really fast?"

"Yeah," Asami said. "You want to see?"

Korra deadpanned. "Of course, because I was thinking what this date really needs is a trip to the hospital."

"You asked!" Asami protested through a laugh. "I'm just kidding anyway, I can't do it."

"I tried once," Korra said as she passed Asami some vegetables to chop, and then held out her hand to present a scar on her middle finger. "It didn't go very well."

"Why am I not surprised?" Asami giggled.

As Korra busied herself with oiling the pan and throwing the fish on with some spices, she asked, "Do you have any interesting scars?"

"Not really," Asami answered, cutting the vegetables Korra had set aside. "The work I do, I get pinched a lot more than I get cut, and burn scars from welding fade really fast."

"That's surprising," Korra said, pacing a few feet away to fill Naga's dog bowl with food. "Considering you do dangerous things like blowing up cars."

"That happened one time!" Asami laughed, admitting guiltily, "Okay, _almost_ twice." Korra snorted amusedly, and as she added some select vegetables Asami had cut to the pan with the fish, Asami remembered an interesting scar. "Oh! Okay, I got one. I went through a bit of a rebellious phase early on in university." She paused, and Korra hummed that she was listening. "And cars are my life, right? So, I maybe… kind of… participated in a drag race."

"You're joking," Korra said in disbelief, and Asami shook her head. "Wow, you really are _full_ of surprises." She paused, adding dreamily, "Hot, adrenaline-fueled surprises." She did something else with spices and the fish while Asami laughed, and then asked, "Did you crash or something?"

"No," Asami said. She was finished with the vegetables, so she leaned back against the counter while she explained. "The guy I raced was talking so much trash before it started, and he said something about my family that really pushed my buttons. So I didn't hold back at all during the race." She paused again, but Korra didn't seem to realize the magnitude of it. "Like, I _completely_ destroyed him and embarrassed him in front of all of his friends." She pointed to a spot above her eyebrow. "He was so mad he sucker punched me in the face."

Korra squinted at where Asami was pointing. "Where?"

"Right there," Asami said. She knew the scar had faded over the years, but surely it was still visible.

"Where?" Korra repeated.

"There," Asami said, gesturing for emphasis.

"I don't see anything," Korra chuckled, planting an apologetic kiss where Asami was pointing. She dumped the rest of the vegetables into a separate pan, letting them cook while she turned to Asami. "Did you ever race him again?"

"That's the only time I ever did anything that illegal," Asami said, folding her arms across her chest self-consciously. "I went to university to try and escape stuff… and then I realized doing things like that wasn't the right way do it. That's not the life I wanted, you know? So I just focused on school afterward."

Korra nodded understandingly, and then asked, "Do you know where the guy lives these days? We can go toilet paper his house if you want."

"Unfortunately, no," Asami laughed.

"Bummer," Korra said, exaggerating a pout. "You still want to help with dinner?" she asked, stirring around the pans distractedly.

"Yeah," Asami answered. "What do you need?"

Korra nodded upward. "There are cups in that cupboard. Food will be done in a few minutes if you want to take drinks and silverware outside."

"Okay," Asami agreed, reaching into the cabinet for two glasses. "What do you want to drink?" When Korra answered with water, Asami filled both cups from a cold vase in the fridge, and then collected some silverware from a drawer. "You want me to wait out there for you, or…?"

Korra nodded, and leaned back to kiss Asami on the cheek. "I'll be right out."

Asami carried the items onto the balcony and set them up on the table, taking a seat at one side to wait for Korra. She'd left the patio door open, so a few moments later, Naga wandered out, setting her head in Asami's lap to blink up at her with big brown eyes. She just couldn't resist scrunching up to hug Naga's massive head.

"You're so cute!" she mused, letting go to rub her fingers into Naga's long fur, enjoying the adorable way Naga pressed into her hands to encourage the petting. She showered the dog with affection for a handful of minutes before Korra came outside, grinning at the sight.

"Naga approves of my choice in women," Korra said happily, setting a plate of food in front of Asami and placing the second on the opposite side of the table. "Sorry, Naga," she said to the dog as she sat down, motioning toward the apartment, "You know the drill." It was with clear reluctance that Naga obeyed the command and plodded back inside, and in response to the curious look on Asami's face, Korra explained, "She'll beg relentlessly if I let her stay out here while we eat."

"Oh," Asami laughed. She leaned over the plate Korra had put in front of her, inhaling a deep whiff of the dish. It smelled amazing, and she was hungry enough that she couldn't resist waiting to take a first testing bite. "Korra," she said through a hum of pleasure, "That's delicious."

"Thanks!" Korra grinned. "I'm glad you like it." Asami nodded her eager consent, and Korra took her own bite as they settled into eating. "So," she prompted curiously after a minute, "Have you ever been in a fight besides getting punched by that guy?"

Asami shook her head, slowing down from scarfing forkfuls in order to answer, "Not unless you count sparring in self-defense classes. You?"

Korra winced. "I have a bit of a temper on the field…"

"That's actually really surprising," Asami admitted.

Korra lifted a cup to her lips, eyebrows furrowing behind it as she washed down her bite of food with a gulp of water. "Why is it really surprising?"

"You've just been so gentle and patient with me," Asami answered. "It's hard to imagine you angry."

"I've been working on it," Korra said honestly. "It's not good for anyone if I start fights during games, so I've gotten better." There was a moment of silence while Asami took another hungry bite, and then Korra added urgently, "It's only on the field though… I don't lose my temper like that normally, like with friends or someone I'm dating."

Asami nodded, offering a reassuring smile. "I know." That spurred another thought, something Asami had considered earlier but hadn't found a good time to bring up yet. Now seemed as good a time as any. "Korra, you know how last night wasn't something that either of us ever did before?" Korra nodded. "Well, now we're going to start dating… and I really like you a _lot_ , and sex with you is just… amazing… but we're still getting to know each other." She paused, earning a hum of curiosity. "I was just wondering if you think maybe we should try not to have sex again until we know each other better."

"Try to date like normal people," Korra said playfully, to which Asami nodded amusedly. "So you want to wait a certain number of dates or something?"

"I guess so."

Korra nodded in consideration as she lifted another bite to her mouth. "Like how many?"

Asami hadn't really thought about it in terms of date numbers, so she said the first number that came to mind. "Twenty?"

Korra choked on the fish she was chewing, asking through a cough, " _Twenty_?"

"Is that a lot?" Asami asked with an entertained smile.

Korra swallowed hard to stop the fit, in such disbelief that she actually looked amused. "If we go on one date a week, that's like five months. And I'm gone a lot for games and you're busy, and for all we know twenty dates could take a year." She gave an exaggerated sigh. "A year! And I already know what I'm missing."

Asami couldn't keep her shoulders from shaking with laughter, but as cute as Korra's reaction was, she did have a point. Asami wouldn't last that long either, especially if they kept having sleepovers like this. "What about half that? Ten dates? That's only a couple of months, and I'm sure we'll see each other more than once a week, even if it's not always for dates."

Korra nodded side to side, as if thinking heavily about it before saying with an exaggerated smile, "Okay." And as she raised another scoop to her mouth she muttered teasingly, "I'll get to know the shit out of you." She swallowed down the bite while Asami laughed, and then said, "Starting now. What's your favorite food?"

"Fire gummies," Asami answered.

"Spicy!" Korra blew a breath through puckered lips, and then chuckled, "But candy's not really food."

"It is when you can't cook," Asami pointed out.

"Oh, Asami," Korra mumbled disappointedly, burying her face in her hands. Asami couldn't help but laugh, as Korra clearly took food seriously. "Will you come over a lot if I cook for you?"

"If everything you make is this good," she said, motioning to her nearly finished meal, "absolutely." Truly, Korra didn't have to cook to get Asami to come over; she already loved this apartment… and was falling in love with its inhabitants a lot quicker than she might be comfortable to admit. She took the time to eat another bite, and then asked, "What's your favorite food?"

"Seaweed noodles," Korra answered without hesitation. "After a hard game or practice I'm always starving, and there's nothing better than a big huge bowl of them." Korra glanced down at her plate, looking disappointed that there wasn't more food on it, and then peeked over at Asami's. It was empty too. "I think we were hungry."

"I guess that's what happens when all I feed you is breakfast." Asami stood, grabbing her plate and then reaching across the table for Korra's.

Korra smiled gratefully, following Asami inside to the kitchen, where she rinsed off the dishes so Korra wouldn't have to do it. While she did, Korra wandered to the bathroom, and when she came out again, Asami glanced that direction to smile at her, catching sight of something she hadn't noticed when she first walked into the apartment. It was a motorcycle helmet, and she hadn't noticed it because it was on the floor beside the bed. But she noticed it now, and drew in an excited breath.

"Korra," she prompted, "What. Is. That?"

Korra stopped her journey back to the kitchen to look around in confusion, asking, "What?" Asami practically skipped over to scoop the helmet off the floor, and Korra said amusedly, "You look like you know exactly what that is."

"You have a bike?" Asami asked gleefully. "What kind is it? Is it fast? Can we ride sometime?"

Korra laughed, striding to where Asami was ogling the helmet. "You should know if it's fast," she said. "Your company built it." Asami's eyes widened with expectation, waiting to hear exactly which motorcycle it was. "The FI 1000."

"Two stroke?" Asami whispered, and when Korra nodded, she gasped. She practically dropped the helmet to fling her arms around Korra's neck. "Can we ride it? Can we?"

"Now?" Korra chuckled, setting her hands on Asami's hips.

"Or later," Asami said, realizing she was probably going a little overboard with her excitement. But she couldn't help it that Korra was _perfect_.

"How about this," Korra suggested, grinning widely, "We can take it out for the day tomorrow. I'll even let you drive." Asami squealed, so elated with the idea that she whipped them around onto the bed, and Korra snorted with laughter at how accurately Asami landed under her. "If I'd known you were going to be this cute geeking out over a motorcycle – one you probably designed, by the way – I would've told you I had it sooner."

"I might've designed _some_ of it…" Asami admitted, feigning accomplished tears, "I'm so proud." Korra rolled her eyes, and Asami added flirtatiously, "And if I knew you had one, I would've had sex with you again before we agreed on ten dates."

Korra whined at that, sticking her bottom lip out. "We can start tomorrow?"

Asami giggled, lifting up enough to peck her on the lips. "You know there's a problem if we're already trying to find loopholes."

"Okay, okay," Korra conceded, narrowing her eyes in a mock glare. "No more teasing then."

"Alright," Asami snickered. "Do you have a car too?"

Korra shook her head. "In the Southern Water Tribe, it's mostly snowmobiles. So when I moved here, I figured I'd get a motorcycle instead of a car, since that's the next closest thing."

Asami nodded, and after they settled into more comfortable positions on the bed, they spent the rest of the night talking. Korra let her go on and on about engines and why the FI 1000 was the best choice, smiling the whole time she looked down at Asami and never interrupting even when she clearly had no idea what Asami was talking about. Asami listened while Korra told her all about her family back home, and how she got Naga, and what it was like growing up and leaving to pursue soccer. And they _were_ getting to know each other.

Asami told Korra as many details about herself as she could. More than she ever had because she'd never felt this comfortable, and Korra never asked questions that she knew would be hard to answer, never pressed on in a topic if it was obvious Asami didn't want to share yet, and she never took that lack of willingness personally. Between topics they flirted and kissed and laughed and Asami's cheeks had never been so sore from smiling _so_ much, but she couldn't stop. She fell asleep grinning and nestled in against Korra's chest.

It was early in the morning when she woke, and considering how late they'd been up together, she wouldn't have woken on her own for a while. But the door of Korra's apartment had opened and shut noisily, and Asami bolted into a sitting position when she realized they were no longer alone. The movement caught the eye of the person who'd just walked in – a female, about their age, with green eyes and black hair that was pulled into a braid and a big paper bag in her hands – and she stopped in her tracks when she saw Asami. They locked gazes, and at first, all Asami felt was panic.

This woman clearly had a key, but what kind of person has a key? A relative, maybe, but she didn't look at all related to Korra, and the next frightened thought Asami had was significant other. But Korra had said she was single, and Asami believed her, and there was no way this woman was a significant other. Not with the smug smile on her lips when she realized what Asami was doing here.

"Hi there," the woman said amusedly.

Asami cleared her throat uncomfortably, offering an awkward smile. Korra hadn't so much as stirred beside her, so she whispered, "Korra." But all Korra did was give a sleepy hum.

"I'm Kuvira." The woman was downright beaming.

Asami brushed her hand back through her hair because this was awkward and, without knowing how to act, she needed to fidget. "Asami," she replied quietly, and then nudged the sleeping girl beside her. "Korra."

Korra slipped an arm over her middle and scooted in closer, mumbling, "I want to hold you."

Kuvira laughed and called loudly, "Hey, Double D!"

Korra shot upright, eyes wide with fright for a moment before her gaze fell on Kuvira. "What the?" Korra blurted, frantically climbing off the bed to pace over. "You can't call first?"

"I _did_ call, and texted," Kuvira said, leaning to glance past Korra at Asami. "But I see now that you've been busy."

"My phone's dead," Korra offered, pushing Kuvira back toward the door.

"That's what chargers are for," Kuvira remarked sarcastically. But then she looked at Asami again, and actually appeared a little disappointed as she asked, "Have you been dating her and not told me?"

"No," Korra said, pulling the door open. "We just met Friday."

Kuvira's eyebrows rose as she asked quietly, "And you already got her in bed?" Korra's mouth fell open uncomfortably as they both glanced back at Asami, who could hear the entire conversation even though they'd lowered their voices. When Korra failed to answer, Kuvira laughed teasingly, "Bullshit, she's way too hot. How much are you paying her?"

"Oh my god!" Korra protested, shoving Kuvira through the exit. "Get out!"

"Wait!" Kuvira pleaded as Korra slammed the door closed, her voice coming through muffled, "I brought breakfast."

Korra whipped around to face Asami, saying with a wince, "I am so sorry about that."

All unexpectedness aside, it was actually kind of funny now that Asami had had a moment to get over the awkwardness of it. Besides, this seemed worse for Korra than it was for her. "It's okay," Asami laughed, getting off the bed to stride toward the kitchen and start making coffee, petting Naga good morning on her way there. "I'm just trying to figure out if you actually hire hookers."

Asami was joking, but Korra's face still flushed red, made even worse when Kuvira called through the door, "She does!"

"Shut up, Kuv!" Korra yelled desperately, and then to Asami, "I swear I don't."

Asami couldn't help but giggle as she hit the start button on the brewer. "I thought you wanted me to meet your friends?"

"Not that one," Korra answered instantly.

"Hey!" Kuvira complained from outside. "Rude!"

Korra rolled her eyes, and Asami said with a shrug, "She brought breakfast."

"Enough for three!" Kuvira's voice confirmed.

Korra simply blinked at her a few times, like she really couldn't believe Asami was okay with this. Then she sighed in defeat, turning back to the door and saying as she opened it, "Tell her I don't hire hooker-" She stopped short, saying uncomfortably, "…Good morning, Mrs. Hong..."

Asami leaned just in time to see an elderly woman shake her head as she trudged down the hall, and snorted with laughter at the sheer mortification on Korra's face.

"That woman hates you," Kuvira snickered as she dodged into the apartment. She bounced right to where Asami was standing at the kitchen counter, dropped the bag of food onto it, and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you. She doesn't hire hookers."

"Nice to meet you too," Asami said, shaking with Kuvira and saying playfully, "And I am not a hooker."

Kuvira laughed, passing a pleased smile in Korra's direction as she pointed at Asami. "Hey, look, she's funnier than you."

"I want my key back," Korra mumbled good-naturedly, wandering over and pecking Asami on the cheek before hopping up to sit on the counter.

"Naga would starve to death if I didn't have a key," Kuvira quipped, pulling wrapped breakfast rolls out of the paper bag she'd brought.

"Why does that neighbor hate you?" Asami asked Korra, but when all Korra did was bow her head in shame, she looked at Kuvira.

Kuvira answered with a wicked grin, "I bet Korra ten bucks she couldn't hit that stupid stock art at the end of the hall with a soccer ball."

"Another bet?" Asami asked amusedly. The end of the hall was a long ways away, though she didn't doubt Korra's skill. "What happened?"

"She kicked it!" Kuvira answered. "As hard as she could."

Asami glanced over at Korra. "Did you hit the art?"

"I would've…" Korra sighed.

And Kuvira finished, "If Mrs. Hong didn't come off the elevator at that exact moment."

"Oh my god," Asami snorted, covering her mouth with her hand because she shouldn't be laughing at this. "You hit her?"

"In the face," Kuvira chortled.

Korra shook her head while Asami and Kuvira laughed about it. It took half a minute, but eventually they stopped, and Asami asked Korra curiously, "Does Kuvira know how you got that scar on your thigh?"

"Yeah, Double D," Kuvira said teasingly, "How'd you get that scar on your thigh?"

"Go ahead," Korra groaned. "You love telling this story."

Asami remembered that Korra wasn't too eager for her to hear this, and worried that she maybe shouldn't have brought it up and Korra was upset, she leaned back against the counter between Korra's legs to see if the affection would be received. It was a comfort when Korra's arms settled over her shoulders, and a tired weight leaned forward against her. Even more, Korra angled enough to kiss Asami's jaw, as if somehow she knew exactly why Asami had put herself here.

Kuvira watched the exchange, asking in disbelief, "Seriously? Friday?" Asami gave a bashful nod, after which Kuvira told her, "Don't let Korra play it cool, she's crushing on you _hard_."

"Just tell the story," Korra protested amusedly.

"Okay," Kuvira consented. "It was one night we snuck into the city pool with some of the team to drink."

"Of course there was alcohol involved," Asami chuckled. It seemed bets and drinking were a surefire way to get Korra in trouble. She also made note of the fact that Kuvira said 'team,' which meant she and Korra played together.

"Yeah," Kuvira smiled in agreement. "So we're all there, drinking, having a great time until the cops show up." Kuvira motioned like she was running. "We all bolt, make it outside and, we all run for a living, you know, so we could have made it and got away clean." She paused, and Asami nodded eagerly. "Only _this_ idiot," Kuvira continued, pointing at Korra, "Decides that instead of running around the cop car like a normal person, she's going to jump _over_ it."

"Korra," Asami laughed scoldingly.

"The dumbass _vaults_ over the roof of the car _head first_ ," Kuvira said, shooting her hand through the air in demonstration.

"I almost made it," Korra added.

" _Almost_ ," Kuvira reminded. "But she clips her thigh on the corner of the police lights and hits the ground rolling." She tumbled her hands through the air in animation. "Since I'm _such_ a good friend, I stop to make sure she's okay, and we both get tackled and cuffed and thrown into the back of the squad car."

"You've been arrested!?" Asami exclaimed in shock.

"Allegedly," Korra chuckled.

"The cops were pissed because she cut her leg on the lights and was bleeding all over their back seat as they drove us to the hospital." Kuvira rolled her eyes, laughing at the memory. "We're both lucky she was dating Mako at the time and he was able to convince them that the paperwork wasn't worth taking us in."

There was a soft groan from behind Asami, and it took her a moment to realize that Kuvira was talking about the same Mako who'd been calling Korra non-stop the day before, and Korra clearly hadn't wanted Kuvira to reveal that information.

"You and Mako dated?" Asami asked, turning enough in Korra's arms to look at her.

"Yeah…" Korra answered, setting her teeth in an apologetic smile.

"Oh," Asami said, and though Korra clearly looked like she was expecting Asami to react poorly, she shrugged. "Okay."

"You're not mad?" Korra asked in surprise.

"Um," Asami began sarcastically, "You did ditch him to go home with me on Friday night." But then she glanced back and forth between Korra and Kuvira. "Why? Should I be jealous?"

"No," Kuvira snorted. "She never looked at him like…" Her eyes went from Korra to Asami, and she motioned indicatively. "Well, like _that_." And then she repeated in that same tone of disbelief, "Seriously, Friday… Just how good are you in bed?"

Asami smirked amusedly, hearing Korra release another embarrassed groan, and to shift topic, asked, "You guys got any more stories?"

"Yes," Kuvira confirmed readily, turning toward the coffee maker. "Let's grab coffee and food and go outside and I'll tell you _all_ of them."

Asami nodded eagerly, and she could tell even through the slight blush on Korra's cheeks that Korra was glad she and Kuvira were getting along. This was _definitely_ going to be fun.


	5. Work

_**** Hey! I know it's been forever! Thank you all so much for being so patient with me. I love you 3. I've been super busy finishing up an original story for my account, which I'm going to start releasing January 5 :D. SUPER SOON! It's almost done, so bear with me a little longer._

 _Anddddd on that note... if you wanna help support me and read a medieval book with more great lady love, go check out my ! You can even read the first chapter already :) Go to /zoereed_

….

Korra turned the corner onto Asami's street on her motorcycle, noticing even from here that there was a second car in the driveway. Asami didn't know she was coming over, and what with that second car, maybe she shouldn't have come without asking first. Especially since it didn't seem like Asami had visitors very often. She hadn't answered Korra's calls that morning either, and maybe something serious was happening. It was a bit concerning, and Korra studied the new car closely as she pulled into the driveway and parked her bike behind Asami's coupe. The visitor's vehicle was nice. Really nice. Just as expensive, if not more so, than Asami's sports car, though it was a four door and more business looking.

The garage was open to expose everything inside, including its two inhabitants. One was Asami, and the other was a woman about their age, maybe a little older, with light skin and brown hair. They both turned away from the workbench to look at Korra as she pulled off her helmet, but now Korra was a little more worried than she had been. She didn't have permission to just come over to Asami's whenever she wanted, even if she had good intentions, and Asami _definitely_ had a visitor. At least Asami didn't look upset about it. She grinned, saying something to her guest and then hurrying out of the garage to come and greet Korra.

"Hey," Asami beamed, striding up to gently grab the neck of Korra's leather jacket, pulling her in for a happy kiss. "I thought you were gone already."

Korra brushed a hand through her hair in case the helmet had messed it up. "I leave in a few hours." She and the team were flying out today for a game in the Fire Nation, but she'd specifically asked Kuvira to take her travel bag so that she could come and see Asami one more time, and drop off the small surprise she'd brought. "I wanted to say bye in person."

She shifted the backpack on her shoulders uncomfortably, taking in the state of Asami's clothing. Her hair was pulled up so it was out of the way, her long-sleeved white shirt was dirty with grease smudges, and the sleeves were pushed up to her elbows so that her hands and arms were dirty too. It looked like she'd been working, and Korra tossed an apologetic glance toward the garage. "Sorry, I tried calling. I didn't know you'd have company… I can go if you're busy."

"No, no," Asami said hastily, "it's okay." She offered a reassuring smile. "I left my phone in the house and we've been out here all morning." And she held out her hand. "Come on, I'll introduce you." Korra took Asami's hand, letting herself be led into the garage to meet the visitor. "This is Zhu Li," Asami said.

Korra let go of Asami's hand to stick hers out to Zhu Li. "Hi," she said with a smile. "I'm-"

"Korra," Zhu Li interrupted knowingly, shaking with her. "I'm a big fan. I'll be watching your game on Monday."

"That's… intimidating," Korra laughed. What if she did bad because she was nervous that Asami's friend was watching? She _did_ want to impress Asami's friends… "But thank you," she added sincerely. As Zhu Li let go of her hand, she scanned the various metal parts on the workbench. "Do you guys work together?"

"No," Zhu Li answered, an entertained glimmer in her gray eyes even though her voice seemed characteristically unenthused. "I work for Varrick Global Industries."

"…Future Industries' biggest rival?" Korra raised one eyebrow at Asami. "Do your employees know their CEO is friends with the enemy?"

"Her husband owns it," Asami said with a teasing shrug. "It's not her fault."

Zhu Li adjusted her glasses, saying flatly, "Asami's benevolence is her best quality..." Korra laughed at the sheer amount of dryness Zhu Li managed, and Zhu Li motioned toward the parts on the table. "We don't talk about work projects anyway, we just experiment with things."

Korra strode a few feet away to an empty spot on the long bench, setting her backpack down on it carefully so its contents would remain intact. "How'd you guys meet?"

"University," Asami answered. "She was in her last year when I started my first."

"Everyone in the engineering department was talking nonstop about some freshman who got away with blowing up a car." Zhu Li shook her head amusedly. "Imagine my surprise at finding out she was actually kind of a genius."

"Kind of?" Asami repeated with playful offense.

Zhu Li blinked at her for a few seconds like that didn't even merit an argument, and then looked at Korra and said, "She invites me over because she still has a lot to learn."

Asami grabbed a dirty rag off the table and threw it at her. "I think Varrick's ego is starting to rub off on you."

Zhu Li simply shrugged, and Korra couldn't help but laugh at the exchange. "So," she prompted, gesturing toward the workbench. "What are you experimenting on now?"

Asami picked up a thin piece of metal, in the shape of a skateboard but with some parts hooked up to the underside. "We're calling it the Zhumi Board."

"Like zooming?" Korra asked with a laugh, and Asami nodded with a proud smile. "It looks kind of like a skateboard."

"It is," Asami nodded. "Only, it won't have wheels."

"And it'll never touch the ground," Zhu Li added.

Korra's eyes widened with realization, and she felt an excited smile at the corners of her mouth. "You're building a hover board!?" They both nodded, looking pleased at how enthusiastic Korra appeared. "How's it work?"

"Magnets and batteries, mostly," Zhu Li said, reaching for the board and flipping it over when Asami gave it to her, showing Korra the crude workings of the bottom side. "It creates a magnetic field that repels the charge of the earth."

"Awesome," Korra mused happily.

"We're actually almost done with it," Asami said. "If you want to watch."

Korra didn't mind watching, but she also recognized that as Asami's more polite way of saying, 'we're going to finish this, please don't be offended if I don't pay attention to you for a few minutes.' So she gave an eager nod, and hopped up to sit on the closest spot of empty workbench, where she'd have a good view of everything they were doing. Despite the view, she was never sure exactly what they were doing. _They didn't talk._ They were like a perfectly synced machine, passing tools back and forth to work at opposite ends of the board, one of them automatically holding the board while the other welded, taking measurements and handing off a pad of paper so they could do… math? That's what it looked like anyway – complicated math that they both seemed to understand.

The only noise in the entire garage was the faint sound of the radio, playing background music so it wasn't eerily silent, but not loud enough to be a distraction from their hard concentration. Even though Korra couldn't have kept up with what they were doing if she tried, she wasn't too worried about it. She just liked getting to watch Asami in her element. Liked the dirty smudges on Asami's clothes and skin. Liked the intense look of focus on her face, the attentive glimmer in her green eyes and the slight crease the combination put in her brow. She liked the way the muscles of Asami's lean forearms flexed when she worked with tools, and the agility and precision and delicacy of her slender fingers.

Asami had mentioned over the last week that she'd dated people who couldn't handle this, who couldn't take her intelligence and drive because they were intimidated by it or felt insecure about it. But this wasn't intimidating. It was _sexy_. So incredibly, undeniably sexy. Asami was unbelievably smart and Korra was _lucky_ , and anyone who'd ever felt intimidated by that was an idiot.

She sat there on the workbench for almost thirty minutes before Asami and Zhu Li simultaneously stopped what they were doing. They both froze and looked at each other, staring for several long seconds before finally glancing at Korra.

"What's wrong?" Korra asked.

"Nothing," Zhu Li answered, turning the board over and hitting a switch that powered up the battery.

"It's finished," Asami said, and then asked Zhu Li, "who's going to test it?"

They stared at each other again, and then at the board, both looking reluctant to volunteer. Korra couldn't necessarily account for the hesitation, seeing as it looked amazing even if it was just a prototype, and she would've tried it in a heartbeat. But neither Asami nor Zhu Li could decide, and they faced each other without saying anything, wordlessly settling on rock, paper, scissors.

"I'll do it," Korra said before they could play the game.

Zhu Li shook her head immediately. "You're top scorer in the entire Earth Kingdom and you have a match in two days, we can't risk you getting hurt."

Korra snickered at that while Asami turned to look at her, and then back at Zhu Li. "She might be the best one to try it, actually."

"Well," Korra asked curiously, "why can't either of you do it?"

"I'm not coordinated like that," Zhu Li answered.

"I've never ridden a skateboard," Asami added.

"Snowboard?" Korra suggested. It was pretty much the same thing.

"I ski," Asami said.

"It's settled then," Korra said, readily jumping off the workbench. "What's the worst that could happen, anyway? It's not like it's going to explode." At that, Zhu Li pursed her lips, nodding her head side to side like she wasn't convinced it _wouldn't_ blow up.

"It's not going to explode," Asami said in exasperation, but Korra's eyebrows rose with concern. Asami did have a track record… "It's not," Asami assured her eagerly. "Zhu Li, tell her it won't explode."

"It most likely won't explode," Zhu Li agreed.

"Right…" Korra murmured, trying to hold back a laugh. "Okay, let's do this."

Asami grabbed the board, and the three of them strode out to the road in front of her house. At least she lived in a quiet neighborhood and it wasn't a busy street. While Asami set the board on the ground, Zhu Li paced to Korra's motorcycle, picking up the helmet and carrying it back over.

"In case it explodes," she said, shoving the helmet down on Korra's head.

"…Thanks…" Korra tilted her head sideways to look down at the space between the board and the street. It was hovering, that's for sure. This was going to be awesome. "Do I just get on and push off like a normal skateboard?"

Both Asami and Zhu Li offered noncommittal nods. So Korra prepared and set one foot on the surface, taking a deep breath and faintly hoping the thing wouldn't explode. It vibrated and wobbled a little bit under the weight of her foot, but she imagined once she got some speed, it would smooth out. _Here goes nothing_ , she thought, and she pushed off as hard as she could and then stood completely on the board.

It _definitely_ smoothed out. It was still vibrating with a powered hum beneath her, but there was no wobbling, and it was sturdier than a skateboard. It was actually a lot like snowboarding; only she didn't have to be going downhill to maintain speed. This type of board kept the speed all on its own. In fact, the street was at just enough of a decline that she was steadily increasing in speed, and it was GREAT.

"Woo!" she yelled excitedly, throwing her arms up and leaning forward and back on her rear foot to start swerving side to side across the width of street. "It works!"

She took whipping turns, elated at how the lack of friction didn't slow her down like it would've if her board were touching ground. The next one she did, she kicked hard with her rear foot, spinning in a complete circle and then throwing her arms out to regain balance because she'd almost fallen. It didn't stop her from doing it again. Asami and Zhu Li were geniuses! She'd totally buy something like this if they sold it.

Korra made it halfway down the street, doing hard whips and turns as she continued to build speed, but there was a busy intersection up ahead, so she figured it was time to stop and head back. Out of instinct, she shifted the board sideways to heel drag like she would if she was snowboarding… but it didn't work.

"Asami!" she hollered behind her, feeling a spark of panic because she was _still_ picking up speed. "How do I stop!?"

She was going way too fast now to turn around – it'd be too sharp, and she'd probably be thrown from the board because of the sharp shift of momentum and risk injury. But that intersection was coming up, and it wasn't empty like Asami's street. Cars were whizzing by, and she'd get run over and then she absolutely wouldn't be playing in the game on Monday.

There was the distant, familiar roar of her motorcycle engine, but she was panicking too much to think about what it meant. She was planning the safest way to bail. The only option was swerving toward the sidewalk, getting as close to the curb as she could, and then timing her jump off the board so she'd land on somebody's grass lawn instead of cement. It was a good thing she was wearing the helmet after all. At least she could be sure she wouldn't hit her head too hard. A broken bone would heal eventually…

Korra moved toward the edge of the street, noting how there were only two lawns left before the intersection. It was now or never. She bent at the knees, preparing to take the leap and do her best tuck and roll, when a hand grabbed the back of her jacket. It was Asami on her motorcycle, and the moment Asami had a grip on Korra, she applied the brake. They slowed down, gradually coming to a complete stop.

"Oh my god," Asami breathed as she shut off the engine. "Are you okay? I'm _so_ sorry."

Korra was panting from the adrenaline rush, and glanced from Asami to the busy street she'd almost ridden into, and then back again. "Nice save," she chuckled nervously, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. She bent over to pick up the board. "What's the trick to stopping?"

Asami's bottom lip tugged down in a severe wince. "We kind of… forgot the lack of friction meant it would need a braking system…" Korra snorted with disbelief, rolling her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Korra."

"It's okay, I'm fine," she said, adding teasingly as she got on the bike behind Asami, "besides, I think Zhu Li would've been the most upset if I got hurt."

Asami chuckled a little, and fired up the engine to drive them back to her house. Zhu Li was shaking her head when they got there, and waited until the motorcycle was off.

"I told you," she said scoldingly, "letting the Fire Ferrets star player be our test dummy was a bad idea."

Korra shrugged, taking off the helmet and getting off the bike to carry the board back to the street. "It's my fault too," she said. "I shouldn't have gone so far so fast."

"What are you doing?" Asami asked worriedly as Korra set the board down.

"Riding…" Korra answered, kicking off gently, so she was only going fast enough that she could do wide circles in front of Asami's driveway, and so that Asami could catch her when she was ready to stop. "This thing is awesome! You should perfect it though, you know, so nobody almost dies next time."

"What do you think?" Zhu Li asked Asami, and they both stood there to watch Korra do circles in the street. "Reverse magnetism?"

"We'd need to add some kind of strength control for it," Asami answered. "So momentum isn't an issue."

Korra did an Ollie after her next turn just to see if she could. It worked, but the soft jump made it so that the bottom of the board briefly scraped asphalt when she touched down again. There were a few sparks… but the board kept moving. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, but Asami and Zhu Li were so focused that they didn't seem to care.

Asami pointed to the board, as if the sparks had told her something. "We could also do a rear foot break, like the rubber thing on roller blades."

"It wouldn't be as durable," Zhu Li pointed out.

Asami nodded in agreement. "But it would work until we figure out the best way to build something in."

Zhu Li nodded too, and then stole a glance at the watch on her wrist. "We'll have to do it next time. I got to go." At that, Korra rode over, grabbing Asami's shoulder to stop herself so she could say a proper goodbye to Zhu Li. "I told Varrick I wouldn't mind him getting a spider monkey if he helped clean the house consistently… but I have to make sure he comes home with _only_ a spider monkey."

"What else would he come home with?" Korra asked amusedly.

Zhu Li deadpanned. "The possibilities are endless."

Korra laughed at that for a moment, and then smiled in parting. "It was nice to meet you."

Zhu Li nodded her agreement. "Good luck at your game." And then tossed a wave at Asami as she started for her car. "See you."

Korra and Asami both stood there until Zhu Li pulled out of the driveway and disappeared down the street. Then Korra flashed a grin. "I brought you something."

Asami's eyebrows rose with interest, so Korra set the board on the ground and pushed off to ride it back into the garage. She steered around the scrapped up car in the middle, to the workbench on the side where she'd left her backpack. She rode right into the table in order to stop, but she collided with it a little harder than she'd meant to, and felt her cheeks shade when Asami laughed at her.

"Okay," Korra said, pulling her backpack to her to unzip it. "Close your eyes."

"What'd you bring?" Asami asked curiously, backing up to sit on the hood of the car and squeezing her eyes shut.

"I'll show you," Korra answered, pulling the sealed container out of her bag. She turned with it in hand and moved to Asami, holding it out in front of her. "See?"

Asami opened her eyes, only to look at the large canteen and squint in confusion. "What's in it?"

"Soup," Korra said, growing slightly nervous that maybe this was weird… "Specifically five-flavored soup, a tribe specialty. I had some ingredients at home that would've gone bad by the time I got back next week." Even though there was a steady smile growing on Asami's lips, Korra was nervous enough that she kept talking. "So I figured, hey, Asami could use some good food while I'm away. It won't last the whole time, but there's enough in here for a few days."

"You brought me _soup_ ," Asami said, officially grinning. "So I wouldn't be eating fire gummies all week." She reached out for the container, turned it over her hands, and then set it aside on the roof of the car so she could pull Korra between her legs. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me," she said, wrapping her arms around Korra's waist in a grateful hug.

"What?" Korra asked in disbelief. "No." But Asami just nodded against her like it really was, and she couldn't help but sigh with relief. "I'm just glad you like it."

"Why wouldn't I?" Asami asked with a laugh, leaning back on her hands and swinging her feet side to side so they bumped Korra's calves. "It's really sweet of you."

"Well," Korra started, shrugging self-consciously, "I kind of came over unannounced and brought you food that you didn't ask for. You're just really independent, and I didn't want you to think that I assume you can't take care of yourself, or that I'm being… I don't know, overbearing."

Asami sat forward again, slipping her arms around Korra's neck. "For future reference," she said amusedly, "you can come over whenever you want. Especially if you're bringing me food."

"Good to know," Korra smiled, leaning in to plant a brief kiss to Asami's lips.

Only, she hadn't seen Asami all week. They texted constantly, and had talked on the phone a couple of times, but this week had been their first taste of how busy they both truly were. Now that Korra was kissing Asami without anyone else around, she realized exactly how much she'd missed it, and she didn't want to stop. She leaned into it a little further, parting her lips to give a more proper kiss and feeling Asami's arms tighten around her neck with reception.

It lasted nearly a minute before Korra pulled away just enough to look at Asami. She would've kept going. She _wanted_ to keep going, but she didn't want Asami to think she'd just come over for a make out session before she had to leave. "So, um," she said, feeling her cheeks tint as she offered in excuse, "you're really sexy when you're doing the science thing. Like, _really_ sexy."

Asami's lips curled, and her hands slid from Korra's neck to grab the collar of her leather jacket. "I was thinking the same thing about you in this jacket."

"Yeah?" Korra asked with a smirk, and it didn't seem like Asami cared whether or not she'd come over for a make out session. She pressed another soft peck to Asami's lips, whispering against them, "Now I can't decide if I want to leave it on or let you take it off."

Asami hummed her approval at the idea, immediately taking Korra's mouth again in long, deep kiss. And Korra couldn't help it, with the way Asami was kissing her and her body just _right there_ , her hands wanted to wander. So she slid her palms up Asami's thighs, grabbed her by the hips to pull her closer, ran them up her back to feel the slim lines of muscle beneath her shirt, anything to get the contact she'd missed out on all week. Asami didn't seem to mind either, because she left Korra's mouth to work those searing lips over her ear, and it left Korra weak.

Weak in the knees, and weak to resist slipping her hands beneath the hem of Asami's shirt, and weak to remind herself that they had that ten date rule. She knew they'd made the rule for a reason – because of _this_. Because they couldn't keep their hands or lips off each other, and Korra respected it because it's what Asami wanted, but… she wouldn't mind letting Asami get as carried away as she wanted to.

Her hands got to Asami's bare ribs before Asami released a low whine into her ear and pulled away. "You're the one who said no teasing," Asami complained, leaning her forehead against Korra's. Then she muttered under her breath, "Make me want to rip that jacket right off."

Korra couldn't help but grin, but she still took her hands out from under Asami's shirt. "Are you saying I'm hard to resist?" she asked teasingly.

"You _know_ you're hard to resist," Asami said, her eyes narrowing in a mock glare. "But if we run the bases too fast we'll have nowhere left to go."

"Okay," Korra laughed, planting a chaste kiss on Asami's cheek. "Pacing. I can do that."

Asami briefly reached up to wipe off the lipstick she'd gotten on Korra's lips. "I'm glad you came over this morning," she said, leaning back on her hands again with an amused smile. "I finally got to ride your motorcycle."

"If you love motorcycles so much," Korra asked, "why don't you own one?"

"I used to," Asami answered, patting the car she was sitting on. "Used to park it right here. But they're so much easier to take apart than cars are… it spent more time in pieces being tinkered with than it did on the road."

"Oh my god," Korra chuckled. "You know, I was going to leave my bike with you the next week while I was gone, but now I'm not so sure."

Asami gasped, sitting up with an excited glimmer in her eyes. "No, no, no, leave it! I'll have it whole again by the time you get back, I promise." Korra deadpanned, and Asami snorted with laughter. "I'm joking," she said, adding with a bashful smile, "at the very most I'll only clean the engine."

" _Only_ clean the engine," Korra said teasingly. "I'll only clean the engine, it's as easy as riding a bike."

Asami laughed and rolled her eyes, settling back on her hands again. "So if you and Kuvira are gone, who's taking care of Naga?"

"Oh," Korra answered, feeling suddenly worried that Asami would get jealous, "she's staying at Mako and Bolin's place."

"Oh," Asami repeated, but though she looked a little surprised, she didn't seem upset about Mako being so involved. "You didn't want me to watch her?"

"I thought about it," Korra said reassuringly. "But we've only been seeing each other for like a week and a half, and we didn't even see each other this week… I didn't want to burden you by asking."

"I really wouldn't mind watching her." Asami shrugged. "Unless you'd rather she stayed with Mako and Bolin."

Korra couldn't help but smile, because Asami was so genuinely caring, and because she really truly didn't care that Korra and Mako were still friends. "How about I bring her over when I get back so we can see how she gets along with Tashi?" Asami nodded her agreement, and Korra took a moment to check the time on her cell phone. It was getting late. "You want to take me to the airport?"

Asami gave another eager nod, but glanced down at her dirtied clothes. "Do I have time to change real quick?"

"Sure," Korra agreed, stepping back so Asami could stand.

Asami hopped off the car she was sitting on, grabbed the soup Korra had brought, and headed into the house. Korra waited patiently outside while Asami went to change, texting Kuvira that she'd be there soon and then studying the underside of the hover board to see if she could figure out how it really worked. She couldn't.

It only took a few minutes for Asami to come back out in a fresh outfit – a clean red t-shirt, jeans, and boots – but the result still left Korra stunned, because she'd managed to make her hair and makeup perfect too, as if she hadn't been working and dirty all morning.

Korra stood there staring for a good length of seconds before Asami laughed and asked, "Ready?"

She nodded, striding with Asami to her motorcycle, where she grabbed the spare helmet and tossed it to Asami. "Why don't you show me how a Sato drives a motorcycle?"

It would've been impossible to miss the massive grin that spread across Asami's face just before she put the helmet on. After Asami swung a leg over and gripped the handlebars, Korra put her own helmet on and sat down behind her. She wrapped her arms tight around Asami's waist, preparing to hold on and already knowing she was in for a ride. And boy was she _so_ not wrong.

Asami peeled out of the driveway, tearing down the road and whizzing between cars at speeds that probably would've terrified Korra if she'd been the one in control. But the fact that it _was_ Asami in control made it the least terrifying thing she could imagine. She handled the bike like she'd been doing it her entire life, shifting gears and leaning into every turn with such grace and finesse it seemed entirely effortless. _And it was fun_. The wind whipping through her clothes and jacket, the echo of the roaring engine off of every car they sped by, how she could feel Asami's torso shake with laughter in her arms every time she yelled through her helmet with the thrill.

All too soon they were skidding to a halt outside the airport terminal, where Kuvira and some of Korra's other teammates were waiting outside for her. It was with some reluctance that she peeled herself from Asami instead of suggesting another go around the block, but she managed to stand and take off the helmet.

"Thanks for the ride," she said, unable to wipe the smile off her face, which only got worse when Asami took off her own helmet and was still grinning.

"Good luck," Asami replied, grabbing the collar of Korra's jacket and pulling her into a parting kiss. "See you next week."

Korra's adrenaline was still pumping, and in combination with the kiss and how attractive it was that Asami could drive like that and take off the helmet without messing up her hair one single bit… it left her flustered. All she could really do was wave and stare as Asami put the helmet back on and sped off.

"Hey, lover girl!" Kuvira called tauntingly.

It pulled Korra out of her trance, and she hurried to her teammates, saying sarcastically, "Ha-ha."

" _That's_ your girlfriend?" Wei asked in disbelief, and his twin brother, Wing, let out an impressed whistle.

"You know," Tahno said smugly, "if you want to know how to handle a woman like that, I could give you some private lessons."

Wei and Wing snickered with lighthearted amusement, but Korra had never liked Tahno much – if she was captain of the team she'd have convinced coach to trade him last season – and she passed him a squinty-eyed side glance, threatening only half-jokingly, "Or I could punch you in the face."

"I second that," Kuvira agreed. Tahno threw up his hands in surrender and turned to retreat into the terminal, but for some reason Kuvira laughed. "Dude, you missed a spot." And she reached up to get the lipstick off Korra's ear. "Seriously, this is why you leave your bag with me?" she asked teasingly. "So you can go and get busy before we leave?"

"Shut up," Korra chuckled, massaging her ear between her fingers to get whatever lipstick was left. "We didn't even do anything."

"Sure," Kuvira drawled in disbelief. "I'm going to start charging you for every pound of luggage I have to haul." Wei and Wing laughed in unison.

"I swear," Korra threatened much more friendlily, "if you weren't ace, I'd make your sex life a living hell."

"Aw," Kuvira whined playfully, "sorry to disappoint." Korra rolled her eyes, so Kuvira waved and turned for the entrance. "Come on, we got a plane to catch!"


	6. Play

*** _So I posted this on AO3 yesterday and completely forgot to post it here… sorry! Lol._ _Finally here's another chapter for ya, a bit late for korrasami week but, here nonetheless. You have my supporters over on P a treon to thank for this cuz they voted for it in monthly polls :). Hope you like it!_

...

Asami pulled into the crowded parking lot of the soccer stadium, watching waves of people in the Fire Ferrets red, gold, and white flutter past. There were also a few scattered jerseys in the mixed browns of the visiting team, and _everyone_ was excited. It was a lot like university games that she'd attended years ago – the joyful murmurs as people passed by her car, the distant challenging yet playful shout from a Fire Ferrets supporter to a Tigerdillos fan, the bounce in everyone's step as they hurried toward the field.

She was excited, too. She'd finally plugged in her TV and hooked up the cable so she could watch the few away games Korra had over the past couple of weeks, but it was going to be entirely different actually seeing it live, with the rumble and electricity of a stadium full of people. But she was also a little bit nervous. The ticket Korra had given her was for a seat right off the field… _with Korra's friends_. The only friend she'd met so far was Kuvira, and knowing she was about to meet more of them, _alone_ , was enough that her stomach was in knots.

Sitting in her car until the game was over, however, wasn't going to do her any good. She climbed out, sifting with other fans toward the stadium, but wandering instead toward a side entrance Korra had told her about. It'd been a few days since they'd seen each other, and because Korra's coach had the team at the field all day going over strategy for the game, Asami didn't get to go over to Korra's place that morning and wish her good luck like she'd wanted. What she _did_ have was a VIP pass that could get her into the locker rooms.

She flashed that pass to the employee monitoring the side entrance, and after asking for directions to the Fire Ferrets locker room, she headed down the hall. The door labeled 'Fire Ferrets Locker' was closed, and she could hear a ruckus from the excited players on the other side of it, but she hesitated to go inside. She didn't know what to expect in a locker room. It was a coed team… so the players had to be decent enough that she wouldn't catch an eyeful, right? But what if they were superstitious about visitors or the coach didn't like people coming in to distract them right before games?

Instead of taking any chances, Asami pulled out her cellphone and texted Korra that she was outside. Then she leaned back against the wall nearby to wait. It took a minute, but the door cracked open enough for Korra's head to stick out, and when she saw Asami, her lips split in that massive goofy grin she got when she was excited – the grin that could light up an entire room and always caught Asami somewhere between swooning and grinning herself.

"Hey!" Korra let the door swing shut behind her, scooping Asami into her arms and spinning her in a circle.

Asami was halfway through a laugh when Korra set her down and kissed her. It was such a deep kiss in comparison to the playfulness of the hug, and her back hit the wall and it took Korra several long seconds to pull away, grin back in place. Asami couldn't help laughing again in spite of the fluttering in her stomach, because Korra's unpredictable pregame mood was infectious in more ways than one.

"Hi," Asami beamed. Korra took a step back, glancing down Asami's front at the official Fire Ferrets jersey she was wearing. "We match."

"Let me see the back," Korra said, squinting at her suspiciously. Asami turned, knowing that right above Korra's number fifty-seven was 'Dribble Dragon' in white letters. Korra snorted amusedly. "I cannot believe you."

"Why?" Asami asked innocently. "Did you want the one that says Dribble Dragon? Because we can trade."

"You're in so much trouble," Korra chuckled. She snatched Asami by the waist, pulling her in to gnaw at her neck with teasing growls. Asami squealed with laughter, squirming in the grip and only managing to break free because Korra started laughing too hard to keep it up. While she leaned back against the wall again, taking Korra's hand to play with her fingers, Korra asked, "You didn't want to come in?"

Asami followed her gaze to the door of the locker room. "I didn't know if I could."

"Sure you can," she said, folding her fingers with Asami's, "come on." Asami followed her in, spotting a few familiar faces around the benches and lockers as well as some new ones. She waved hello to Kuvira, and smiled at a set of twins she'd seen at the airport once. "You know Kuv, that's Wing and Wei," Korra pointed, going around the circle, "Tahno, Desna, Eska, Iroh," and she introduced the rest of the players by name. "This is Asami."

Most of them waved and went back to their game preparations, but Kuvira shot off a bench and hurried over, tucking her jersey into her shorts as she walked. "She hasn't shut up about you coming," she said, nodding toward Korra. "Asami will be here, she'll watch me play live, what if I mess up, I've been clumsy lately, blah, blah, blah. Nonstop."

"I hate you so much," Korra mumbled.

"Nice jersey!" Kuvira said, ignoring her and doing a circle around Asami, laughing when she saw the back. "I love it."

"Heading out for warmups in three minutes!" announced an older woman. Their coach probably.

"You know where your seat is?" Korra asked.

"I'll find it," Asami assured her, "good luck," and pecked her on the cheek before turning for the door.

" _Hello_?" Kuvira said urgently, and when Asami stopped, she told Korra, "it's bad luck if she doesn't do the girlfriend tradition."

Korra's eyes went wide, a fiery blush coloring her dark cheeks. " _Kuv_ ," she murmured in protest, "we haven't- we're not-"

They hadn't talked about a label. They were dating, of course, and there was an unspoken implication of exclusivity, but they hadn't decided that they were official. Not once had either of them said 'girlfriend,' at least not that Asami was aware, and Korra looked mortified. Looked like she was waiting for the embarrassing and awkward moment when Asami denied that they were girlfriends or made their relationship less serious. Only, Asami hadn't even been fazed by the word. Actually… she really liked it. Really liked _Korra_ and the idea of being more than people who went on dates together and the idea that 'girlfriends' implied a _future_. And maybe they didn't need to have a conversation about it. Maybe this moment was enough.

"What do I have to do?" Asami asked. Korra looked from Kuvira to her with surprise, but then Asami gave her a reassuring smile, and her teeth set in a bashful grin.

"Korra's offense," Kuvira began to explain, "so you have to repeat after me, and then kiss her."

"Okay," Asami said.

She chanted, "Left field, right field, center forward," and then said flatly, "score goals, dumbass."

Asami burst into laughter. "Seriously? That's it?" Kuvira nodded eagerly, Korra simply shrugged her agreement, and Asami tried her best to keep a straight face. "Left field, right field, center forward…" she repeated, and she glanced between the two of them, trying not to laugh as she finished, "score goals, dumbass." She planted the best kiss she could to Korra's lips through her amused smile. "Good luck."

Korra was blushing again, but muttered, "Thanks," as Asami headed for the door.

She exited the side of the stadium and went back around to the main entrance, giving her ticket to the employee at the gate. It was easy enough to follow the marked signs to find her seat – the seat that was only two rows back from the field and right behind the Fire Ferrets' bench, and that was already surrounded on both sides by people, some of who were Korra's friends.

She didn't know exactly who she was looking for. The only time she'd ever seen any of them was at the club, but then she'd been so focused on Korra that she'd hardly spared a glance at anyone else. But the very moment she reached the end of her row, a guy toward the center of it took in a gasp that was almost audible even over the roar of the crowd. He had short black hair with a cute curl hanging in front of his forehead, and bright green eyes that widened along with his gasp, and he waved at Asami as if they'd known each other for years.

She skirted down the aisle until they were face to face, and he immediately took her hand in both of his to shake with her. "Asami!" he cooed excitedly. "Wow, hi, I remember you, hi. It's so nice to finally meet you!"

"Hello," Asami laughed, nearly half of her nerves already obliterated by his friendliness.

"I'm Bolin," he announced, stepping aside as much as he could to usher a woman forward. "And this is my girlfriend, Opal."

Asami shook with Opal. "Nice to meet you."

"And this," Bolin said, gesturing to the man standing beside them, "is my brother, Mako."

 _Ah_ , Asami thought, _the ex_. He was handsome, that's for sure, if a little bit serious looking… She took the hand he was offering, somewhat nervous about his reaction to her as she introduced, "Asami."

"We've heard a lot about you," he said nicely, but even though he let go of her hand, his amber eyes hadn't strayed from her face. Eventually he mused, "You look really familiar."

"The club?" she suggested.

"No," he murmured, staring at her intently, "aside from that."

And Asami's face nearly paled. He was a cop, wasn't he? Which meant he'd likely heard more about the investigation than was put out in the media, and that's probably why she looked familiar to him, and if he heard her last name then he'd _definitely_ connect the dots. But that wasn't something she wanted to talk about, and she especially didn't want Korra's friends bringing it up before she'd ever even told Korra about it.

Attempting to deflect, she said, "So I heard you got promoted to detective? Congratulations."

"Yeah," Mako answered, finally giving a smile, "thanks."

He looked like he was about to say something else, maybe ask Asami about what she did for a living, but Bolin threw an arm around Mako's shoulders, pointing toward the field. "Here they come!"

The Fire Ferrets and the Tigerdillos filtered in from one end of the field, and Korra purposefully waved at Asami as the Fire Ferrets did a lap. Asami waved back, laughing when Kuvira waved at her too. She took her seat between Bolin and Mako to watch the warmups and wait for the game to start.

Mako leaned in from his seat and finally asked her, "What do you do? All Korra said was that you're a genius."

Asami laughed, blushing as she said, "I'm a mechanical engineer," purposefully leaving out what company she worked for so he wouldn't place her identity even quicker. "I design things like cars, planes, factory equipment." Mako cocked his head in thought, and a change of topic seemed like a good idea... "How do you all know Korra?"

"We played-"

"Soccer!" Bolin finished. "Before Korra joined the big leagues."

"It was a casual league," Mako explained.

Asami leaned to look at Opal on the other side of Bolin. "You played too?"

"Yeah," Opal smiled, side-glancing at Bolin, "for a different team."

"And what do you do, Bolin?" she asked.

"I'm an actor!" he answered, putting his hands to his hips to pose.

"Have I seen anything you're in?" Asami asked.

"Well," he deflated, rubbing the back of his head, "I'm an _aspiring_ actor. I haven't been in any movers yet, but I was in that Moon Cakes commercial with the jingle." Asami's eyebrows furrowed thoughtfully, and she hardly watched enough TV to recall, but then he started doing the dance from his seat, mumbling, "moon cakes, flaky fresh-baked."

"Oh, yeah!" Asami exclaimed. "I know that one! It's catchy."

"Ask him how he got paid," Opal said, and though she tried to deadpan, there was a twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

"How'd you get paid?"

Bolin reached into his pocket, pulling out four smooshed wrapped moon cakes. "Free moon cakes for life!" He held one out. "Want one?"

"Sure," Asami laughed, taking the treat, "thanks." He passed two others to Opal and Mako.

The game began while they munched on their moon cakes, with Korra starting on offense. They made some conversation during the match, but mostly they were cheering and yelling with the rest of the crowd, and Asami was preoccupied with watching Korra.

It was an entirely different experience seeing her play live, and _this_ close up. Asami was close enough that when play moved past center field where they were sitting, she could see the beautiful blue of Korra's eyes, or the tip of her tongue sticking out her lips in her concentration on her footwork, or the way her gaze flickered toward the crowd, as if searching for Asami every time she got a moment to breathe. It was sweet, and Asami could tell that Korra hoped she was impressed, and she _was_. Korra was an _athlete_. A spectacular athlete, and she made everything she did look so easy. She ran half the field without looking winded, changed direction mid dribble and tripped up her opponent, passed the ball with perfect precision and timing.

Best of all, even better than how easy Korra made it look, was _how_ she looked doing it. That Fire Ferrets uniform hugged her in all the right places, and Asami could ogle the muscles in her arms and thighs with hardly trying. The shirt sleeves were short enough to watch the outline of her biceps flex with the movement of her arms. Her shorts cut off above the knee so that every sinew of powerful muscle beneath dark flesh strained through each stride. After half the game, Korra had sweated enough that her shirt began to stick to her stomach and back, and Asami could picture the outlines of muscle beneath that too. The last thing she expected was to feel _this_ attracted to Korra during a game, but she was more than just attracted. It was a _turn on_. And she was loving every second of it.

It was one to zero by the last twenty minutes of the game, but even though the Fire Ferrets were winning, Asami could tell that Korra was getting tired. And frustrated. The Tigerdillos were pushing hard, and Asami didn't know the exact rules of soccer, but one player seemed particularly aggressive every time she got near Korra. Asami recalled Korra saying that she'd been in fights on the field, and what with the way Mako leaned forward intensely whenever Korra and that other player got close to each other, she was a little worried about what might happen.

That tension culminated in a moment when the Tigerdillos player caught up to Korra while she had the ball. Korra was making her way up the field almost directly in front of their seats, and the player slid into her from behind, taking them both to the ground. Whistles sounded instantly, but Korra vaulted to her feet, chest puffing and shoulders squaring like she was ready to retaliate. The other player gained her feet too, meeting the advance so readily it was like that's what she'd wanted.

Asami sat forward at the edge of her seat, hoping Korra wouldn't get hurt while Bolin and Mako jumped up, yelling about a foul. But just when it looked like Korra might snap, she blinked, glanced over and made eye contact with Asami, and all that anger faded into a smile. She winked and jogged off to take her penalty kick.

Asami sank back into her seat, Mako doing the same as he muttered, "Whoa."

"What?" Asami asked.

"Korra and that girl are always getting into it," he said. "I'm surprised she resisted the challenge. She's _really_ trying to make a good impression on you."

Asami grinned, relaxing even further into her seat while she watched Korra score her penalty shot. Sure, Korra might have avoided the fight because she wanted to look good, but Asami hadn't done anything. That was all _her_ , her choice and her self-control, and Asami was proud of her. So proud that she couldn't wait for the game to end so she could meet Korra outside the locker room, to congratulate her for winning the game and praise her for being such a good sport about the foul, and maybe reward her a little bit too…

By the time the match was over, Asami was itching to see her. She would've headed straight there, but as they walked toward the exit, Mako said, "We'll meet you and Korra at the restaurant?"

Right, dinner plans. Asami nodded, and because she'd used her connections to get the reservation at a place that was hard to get into, she said, "It's under my name."

"What's your last name?" he asked.

Asami froze. _That_ was the kind of information she didn't want to tell him, and now he'd know. Crap, he'd definitely know. "Sato," she answered hesitantly. She watched him process that information, and the moment it finally dawned on him where he knew her from, she waved. "Bye, we'll see you there."

She made a beeline for the side entrance to the locker rooms. _Crap_. _This_ was why Asami never got to open up to people on her own time. Because everybody knew about her life and made assumptions and by the time she finally got to tell her side, they'd already formed an opinion. Mako had certainly formed an opinion about her and her family, and long before he'd ever met her, but now she'd _have_ to tell Korra. She had no choice. But the very idea that Korra might not want to be with her afterward was terrifying.

She reached the door and texted Korra that she was waiting outside, and she was already nervous, but the longer she waited, the worse it got. It was taking Korra _forever_ , and she didn't respond to acknowledge Asami's text. After a long span of tense minutes, Asami started to wonder if Mako hadn't even waited to tell Korra. If he'd called her and was telling her everything that very moment and Asami would never get a chance to explain. And she was sweating, leaning her back against the wall while her heart pounded, trying to smile at the teammates who left while she waited.

Eventually the door opened and Korra came out, and the massive grin on her face was the most beautiful thing Asami had _ever_ seen. She heaved a sigh of relief because there was no way Korra would be that happy to see her if Mako had called and told her everything, and Asami threw her arms around Korra's neck in a hug.

"We won!" Korra beamed.

Asami nodded. She'd had all this enthusiasm and praise and physical affection ready for Korra, but the residual panic made it impossible now. "You played amazing," she said, hugging Korra again and burying her face in her neck. She smelled so fresh, and her hair was wet, and that's why it'd taken her so long. She'd showered so they could go to dinner and Asami had been freaking out for no reason.

Well, not for no reason. She still had to say it. As they walked to Korra's motorcycle to ride to the restaurant together, she knew she had to say it. They rode there while Korra weaved in and out of traffic and Asami told herself repeatedly to calm down, but by the time they pulled into the restaurant's parking lot, she was freaking out all over again. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had to say it.

Korra threw off her helmet and climbed off the bike, but she stopped short when Asami made no move to do the same. She watched while Asami removed her own helmet and took in the look on Asami's face, and her expression shifted instantly. "What's wrong?"

"I have to tell you something," Asami forced out on a breath, taking in a deep one to prepare herself. "I wasn't ready to tell you, but Mako knows and I don't know what he'll say."

"You don't have to tell me," Korra said, looking severely concerned and confused at the same time. "If Mako tries to say something, I won't listen."

Asami shook her head, shifting to sit sideways on the bike, rubbing her hands together to keep them from trembling. "I want you to hear it from me. It's only a matter of time before you hear it somewhere else."

"Okay…"

"You know how I told you that my mom died when I was a kid," Asami asked, "and I don't have a good relationship with my dad?" Korra nodded. "Well, it happened when I was six… my mom was killed by some gang members who broke in to rob our house."

"I'm so sorry," Korra said, stepping forward and reaching out for Asami's hand.

The warmth of the touch steadied her enough to continue. "My dad knew who did it, it was a gang who was upset that he wouldn't let Future Industries do business with them, but no matter how hard he fought, there wasn't enough to bring them to justice." Asami sighed, squeezing Korra's hand for strength. "So he decided to get justice himself."

Korra's eyebrows furrowed. "He's like a vigilante?"

"In his mind, maybe," Asami answered, shrugging. "He wants to shut that gang down for good, but the only way he knows how to do that is by doing criminal things too."

"What's he doing?" Korra asked.

"Whatever he has to," she said, swallowing hard around the lump in her throat. "I wanted him to just let it go so we could move on, but he became obsessed and willing to do anything. He was being investigated for years, but then he was going to be arrested so he went into hiding, and I was finally old enough, so I took over Future Industries."

There was a long pause as Korra thought about it, and then she asked, "Do you know where he is?"

Asami shook her head. "But… he's still my dad… to be honest, I don't know if I want to know where he is, because then I'd have to choose." She raised her free hand to her forehead, avoiding meeting Korra's eyes. "The police don't believe me because he calls sometimes, and they don't believe that I won't use Future Industries assets to support him, so I'm being investigated and constantly watched too. He wants me to join him. Says I need protection because the gangs are at war, but I wouldn't _need_ protection if it wasn't for him, not from gangs or from the media or from people who think they know me."

"Are you in danger?" Korra asked, her voice full of concern.

"No," she answered. "Not exactly, and I've been taking self-defense classes for years."

"That's good…" Korra hesitated for a moment before asking cautiously, "You don't use assets to support him, do you?"

" _NO_ ," Asami said, some mixture of hurt and offense and fear churning her stomach. "I never wanted anything to do with it. That's why I left for university and I never answer when he calls and-"

"Hey," Korra said, bringing Asami's hand up to her lips, pressing tender kisses to the back. "I know, I believe you. I just… I had to ask…"

"You believe me?" she asked.

Korra nodded. "Did you think I wouldn't?"

"I don't know, not really," she admitted. "I just thought it might be too much drama when you found out and you wouldn't want to deal with it." Her cheeks flushed with heat as she added, "But now that I think about it, I probably should've told you sooner, in case reporters start putting stuff in tabloids about us and it hurts your image in the media."

"I don't care much about that," Korra chuckled, shrugging, "as long as I still get to play soccer." She folded their fingers together, giving a shy smile. "I _really_ like you, Asami, a _lot_. Who cares what anybody else thinks? So what if my girlfriend's a criminal?"

"I'm not a criminal," Asami said, narrowing her eyes.

"Well," Korra drawled, "you _did_ steal my heart."

And just like that, Asami smiled, all nerves and anxiety completely gone. "That was so cheesy," she giggled.

"I know," Korra laughed, and thumbed the edge of Asami's lips, "but it got the job done." She glanced away, adding nervously, "And you didn't protest me calling you my girlfriend."

Asami reached up to slip her arms around Korra's neck, pulling her forward until she was standing between Asami's legs. "Maybe I like being called your girlfriend."

"That's good," Korra said, setting her hands on Asami's hips, "because my friends have been calling you that for weeks now…"

"I wish I'd known," she laughed, "I'd have called me that sooner too."

Korra beamed, grinning at her for a few whole seconds before pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Thank you for telling me even though you weren't ready. If you ever want to talk about anything, or need anything, I'll try to be as helpful as I can."

"I know you will," Asami said, and she meant it, and her heart swelled as she wondered how she could've ever been afraid to tell Korra the truth, because when had Korra ever been anything but accepting and sweet? "Thank you for being so amazing."

"What are girlfriends for?" Korra asked, smile widening at the word, and Asami couldn't help smiling either. "So, did you have fun at the game? Were my friends nice?"

"They were great," she answered, and even though she'd have loved to sit there with her arms around Korra's neck all night, she tossed a look at the restaurant, "and I believe they're waiting for us."

She hopped off the bike so they could start for the restaurant, and Asami was still so full of appreciation and affection and lingering attraction that she took Korra's hand and hugged herself to that arm, and she hardly let go for the duration of dinner. Not while they were seated, not even when they got their food and ate. Instead, the more time that passed, the less she seemed to be able to keep her hands to herself. Korra was _incredible_ , and she'd reacted so much better to hearing about Asami's past and family than Asami ever could've hoped. And Mako _did_ bring it up, and Korra, with her hand clasped firmly in Asami's, told him to leave work at work, and Asami melted right into her side.

At some point, Korra noticed all the touching too. Noticed exactly how close to her Asami wanted to be, because she finally took her hand from Asami's just to drape that arm around her shoulders and pull her closer. Asami's fingers caressed up and down Korra's thigh atop her jeans, and Korra's fingers drew circles over her shoulder, and dinner couldn't end quickly enough. As much fun as it was talking to Korra's friends, Asami couldn't get lingering images of Korra on the field out of her head. Korra in her sweat-soaked jersey. Korra's powerful muscles working to run and dribble and score. She couldn't stop thinking about the word 'girlfriend,' and about how understanding and supportive Korra was.

She was thinking about _sex_. But it wasn't just the physical release or how great it was being with Korra like that, it was the intimacy. It was being _close_ more than just physically. They'd made the ten date rule because of things like the issues with Asami's father, because they were still getting to know each other and it was important that they were as good together emotionally as they were physically. Only, Asami had never been so good. She'd never been so comfortable or happy or _smitten_. Never been so content to have all those feelings reciprocated, and she almost didn't care about the rule.

By the time dinner ended and they were walking hand in hand back to Korra's motorcycle, Asami was so gone in how badly she wanted to be _near_ Korra that she didn't say anything. She feared that speaking would break what little composure she had left, and Korra had to feel it too, because she didn't speak either. She silently handed Asami the second helmet, barely able to tear her eyes away until they both climbed on. Asami wrapped her arms around Korra's waist to hold onto her as they took off, and she tried her best to behave, but _that_ _sweat-soaked jersey_.

There were muscles beneath Korra's fresh clothing that Asami missed seeing and feeling and kissing, and she was so enamored that she couldn't resist slipping her hands beneath Korra's shirt, just to touch her abs and hips and reacquaint herself with them. Korra was so gentle, but her body was solid and toned and so _sexy_. She could feel Korra's abs tighten against her touch every time she ran her hands over them, could feel Korra straighten her posture to give her more room. Korra's throttle hand shifted, careening them toward home faster than ever, and Asami didn't know what was waiting for her. She didn't know if Korra was as close to losing sight of their rule as she was, and they were so far from their ten date goal that it was almost pathetic, but she wanted _something_. Some way to express the intimacy and appreciation and, god, the _love_ that she had. She wouldn't say it. It was way too soon and even she knew the difference between infatuation and love, but that's where she was heading and she didn't want to stop it.

They reached Korra's apartment building, and Korra took Asami's hand as they walked toward the entrance, and she was _definitely_ thinking about it too. She still didn't say anything, but her thumb ran rapid strokes across the back of Asami's hand. Restless strokes. Strokes that let Asami know she was doing everything she could to keep her hand _there_ , folded with Asami's. It was like one fast move would snap the tension between them, but as they got on the elevator to go up to Korra's floor, Asami couldn't take the distance between them anymore.

She pulled Korra's hand toward her at the same time as she took a step toward the rear of the elevator, and it was like Korra had been waiting for the invitation. Every bit of restraint broke in the matter of an instant. Korra's hands set on her waist and her back hit the wall and Korra was _there_. Pressing up against her and pulling her closer and kissing her like they hadn't kissed in ages. Her entire body flushed with a heat so strong that she melted all over again, into Korra and Korra's hands and Korra's kiss.

Her arms slid around Korra's neck, and she was so focused on the way Korra was pushing into her that she barely registered the ding of the elevator reaching the third floor. It took a moment for them to stumble off the lift, but their lips and bodies never parted. Every step toward the apartment that took Asami too far away, Korra was pulling her right back, tripping them up so they crashed against the wall. Asami's shoulders met the surface, and her arms tightened around Korra's neck to encourage the hard press of her solid body. The wandering of her hands.

Asami didn't care about running bases too quickly anymore, didn't care so much about holding back. They didn't have to have sex, they could just kiss and touch, but she needed _contact_. All she cared about was the way Korra's fingers dug into her lower back. How those strong hands slid up her waist, came forward to run down her stomach, and traced back up like Korra wanted so badly to feel _more_.

With the first push of Korra's hips into hers, Asami's fingers threaded in Korra's hair, and with the next she pulsed in return, letting the motion roll through her so even her chest pushed against Korra's. She was already well on her way to breathless, but then Korra's lips left hers for her neck. They opened against the side of it, sealing over her pulse point without any gentle pecks to ready her for the searing heat, and she hummed a weak approval. Korra's mouth was scorching, and the blazing moisture of her tongue traced the sensitive skin between the firm suction of her lips, sending waves of heat barreling to Asami's core with the rhythm of her hips.

Asami's head lolled to the side, offering up more of her neck while one hand left Korra's head for her hips, encouraging the push of them against her. And Korra _finally_ got bold enough to touch her. Hands traveled up her stomach to her chest, and it felt so good to have Korra grab her. To have Korra's palms kneading and groping and a thumb teasing her nipple through her shirt, and she couldn't stop a low moan from leaving her throat. But then she realized that they weren't even in Korra's apartment yet and _they had to stop doing this in public spaces._

Asami used the grip on Korra's head to bring their lips together again, and then she guided them away from the wall, walking backwards as gracefully as she could. They stumbled farther, hands leaving her breasts for her waist so Korra could keep them close, and Asami was so eager that she hardly knew which apartment was which. When they reached the far end of the hall, she turned them around, slamming Korra back against the door and dipping her head to take Korra's earlobe between her teeth.

Korra's hands dropped to her backside, squeezing and using the grip to grind Asami forward, but even through the arousal, she protested on a breath, " _Not this door_."

Korra surged forward, pushing Asami back into the door across the hall while one hand went to her pocket for her keys. Her lips found that same spot on Asami's neck, fingers of her free hand clutching at Asami's hip to keep moving against her, but just as Korra pulled her keys from her pocket, the door Asami had shoved her into opened. An irritated face scowled across the hall at them, and Korra froze, her face flushing a dark crimson as she turned away from Asami.

But Asami didn't have time for this. She took the keys from Korra's hand as Korra mumbled breathlessly, "Sorry, Mrs. Hong, we were just-" and she unlocked the door and dragged Korra in after her before she could finish that sentence.

Lips were back on hers before the door had even fully closed. Korra's hands were back to gripping and clutching, and they ignored Naga as they staggered in the dark toward the couch. Asami fell onto it first, back hitting the cushions with Korra falling right on top of her, and there wasn't so much as a hitch in their rhythm. Korra braced herself on one forearm, the other hand grabbing the back of Asami's knee to guide that leg around her hip, and then it ran up her thigh and under her shirt. That hand groped at her chest, pinching the stiff point at a center and then massaging the sensitivity out so perfectly that Asami could barely breathe.

 _This_ was what she wanted. Touching. Korra's hand on her body. Exploring her chest and then tracing her curves to her backside, grabbing and caressing back up. And _her_ hands weren't idle. They were _everywhere_. Cupping Korra's face, rounding her shoulders, palming the distinct lines of muscle on her stomach and back. Anywhere Asami could reach, she touched.

Korra was panting against her lips, and took in enough air to ask, "How many dates has it been?"

Asami's head fell back as Korra's mouth dipped to her neck, her legs reflexively wrapping around Korra's waist as she said, "Two." But god, she wished it were ten.

Korra groaned and sucked hard at her throat, but their hips hadn't stopped moving together, and the way Asami had shifted made that movement _just right_. She hadn't done it on purpose, but everything they were doing was so hot and she was already _so wet_ , and every time Korra ground her hips forward, the inseam of Asami's jeans rubbed directly over her clit. The first time it happened, she drew in a heavy gasp, hands shooting down to grab Korra's hips because she wasn't sure if she should stop it. But _it felt so good_. Her hands pulled as her hips pushed, grinding Korra harder against her so that her back bowed and she moaned, knowing she wouldn't have been able to stop herself even if she wanted to.

" _Fuck_ , Asami," Korra breathed into her neck, hand grazing the curve of her back beneath her shirt, "you don't know what you do to me."

Asami swallowed hard, trying to find the words to express what she was feeling, physically _and_ emotionally, but she couldn't. She couldn't think past the searing mouth at her neck or the touch of Korra's hand or the rhythmic friction between her legs. "Korra, I'm-" She dug her fingers into Korra's back, clutching for sanity. "I'm going to come." There was a ragged and muffled profanity against her neck, but the grinding at her core froze. " _Don't stop_."

"The rule?" Korra murmured, but her hips jogged into motion, her hand slipping deeper between the couch and Asami to grasp at her backside, pulling them even more flush with every thrust.

"No, it," Asami paused, struggling for air to even speak while one of her hands returned to Korra's hair, "it doesn't count." She brought Korra's lips to hers, panting against them, "Touch yourself."

Korra's mouth crashed down on hers, and Korra didn't so much as protest. Her hand shot between them, flicking open the button of her jeans and then shoving straight in. The sigh of relief Korra released onto Asami's tongue had her clenching with need, but infinitely better was that Korra's hand created a bulge between them, and it pressed that ridge in her jeans even more accurately against her.

Korra ground as smoothly and rhythmically as she could, but Asami could feel the increasing snag in the cadence as Korra muttered, "I'm going to come so fast."

"Do it," Asami purred, and she curled herself into Korra, leaving Korra's lips to trace her tongue over the shell of her ear as a flood of heat exploded at her core. "I'm _there_ , Korra, _come_."

And she was _gone_. Falling right over the edge of bliss and feeling Korra stiffen above her. She had to let Korra go as her spine arched, head tipping back so she could moan her pleasure to the ceiling. Korra's head had fallen into the crook of her neck, the vibrations of Korra's own climaxing moans against her throat. Her hips rocked on their own, keeping rhythm with every powerful wave that crashed through her, rocking her against the pressure of Korra's hand to keep her there as long as possible.

She came down from it slowly, throbbing against nothing but the mess of moisture between her legs, jerking with aftershocks every time Korra's hand so much as moved to keep touching herself. When not so much as a twitch could be drawn out of her, she sighed with satisfaction, and Korra pulled her own hand out of her jeans and collapsed on top of her.

They lay there panting for air for an entire minute, and then in silence for a couple more before Asami laughed, "Shit, Korra, we're _hopeless_." But as much as she'd wanted to follow their ten date rule, there wasn't a single part of her that regretted it, and _technically_ they _hadn't_ had sex…

Korra hummed against her, pressing a kiss to where her face was buried in Asami's neck. "We'll do better next time."

"Yeah," Asami laughed, wrapping her arms around Korra to hold her close, already drowsy with contentment, "right."


End file.
